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diff --git a/3413-h/3413-h.htm b/3413-h/3413-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..17a1b9d --- /dev/null +++ b/3413-h/3413-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,16403 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Blazed Trail, by Stewart Edward White + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Blazed Trail, by Stewart Edward White + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Blazed Trail + +Author: Stewart Edward White + +Release Date: January 28, 2009 [EBook #3413] +Last Updated: March 12, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BLAZED TRAIL *** + + + + +Produced by Douglas E. Levy, and David Widger + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE BLAZED TRAIL + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Stewart Edward White + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h4> + TO MY FATHER—From whose early pioneer life<br /> are drawn many of + Harry Thorpe's experiences. + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PART1"> PART I: THE FOREST </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> Chapter I </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> Chapter II </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> Chapter III </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> Chapter IV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> Chapter V </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> Chapter VI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> Chapter VII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> Chapter VIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> Chapter IX </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> Chapter X </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0011"> Chapter XI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0012"> Chapter XII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0013"> Chapter XIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0014"> Chapter XIV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0015"> Chapter XV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PART2"> PART II. THE LANDLOOKER </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0016"> Chapter XVI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0017"> Chapter XVII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0018"> Chapter XVIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0019"> Chapter XIX </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0020"> Chapter XX </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0021"> Chapter XXI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0022"> Chapter XXII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0023"> Chapter XXIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0024"> Chapter XXIV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0025"> Chapter XXV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PART3"> PART III. THE BLAZING OF THE TRAIL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0026"> Chapter XXVI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0027"> Chapter XXVII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0028"> Chapter XXVIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0029"> Chapter XXIX </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0030"> Chapter XXX </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0031"> Chapter XXXI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0032"> Chapter XXXII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0033"> Chapter XXXIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0034"> Chapter XXXIV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0035"> Chapter XXXV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0036"> Chapter XXXVI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PART4"> PART IV. THORPE'S DREAM GIRL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0037"> Chapter XXXVII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0038"> Chapter XXXVIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0039"> Chapter XXXIX </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0040"> Chapter XL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0041"> Chapter XLI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0042"> Chapter XLII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0043"> Chapter XLIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PART5"> PART V. THE FOLLOWING OF THE TRAIL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0044"> Chapter XLIV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0045"> Chapter XLV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0046"> Chapter XLVI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0047"> Chapter XLVII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0048"> Chapter XLVIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0049"> Chapter XLIX </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0050"> Chapter L </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0051"> Chapter LI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0052"> Chapter LII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0053"> Chapter LIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0054"> Chapter LIV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0055"> Chapter LV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0056"> Chapter LVI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0057"> Chapter LVII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0058"> Chapter LVIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0059"> Chapter LIX </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0060"> Chapter LX </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_PART1" id="link2H_PART1"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PART I: THE FOREST + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter I + </h2> + <p> + When history has granted him the justice of perspective, we shall know the + American Pioneer as one of the most picturesque of her many figures. + Resourceful, self-reliant, bold; adapting himself with fluidity to diverse + circumstances and conditions; meeting with equal cheerfulness of + confidence and completeness of capability both unknown dangers and the + perils by which he has been educated; seizing the useful in the lives of + the beasts and men nearest him, and assimilating it with marvellous + rapidity; he presents to the world a picture of complete adequacy which it + would be difficult to match in any other walk of life. He is a strong man, + with a strong man's virtues and a strong man's vices. In him the passions + are elemental, the dramas epic, for he lives in the age when men are close + to nature, and draw from her their forces. He satisfies his needs direct + from the earth. Stripped of all the towns can give him, he merely resorts + to a facile substitution. It becomes an affair of rawhide for leather, + buckskin for cloth, venison for canned tomatoes. We feel that his steps + are planted on solid earth, for civilizations may crumble without + disturbing his magnificent self-poise. In him we perceive dimly his + environment. He has something about him which other men do not possess—a + frank clearness of the eye, a swing of the shoulder, a carriage of the + hips, a tilt of the hat, an air of muscular well-being which marks him as + belonging to the advance guard, whether he wears buckskin, mackinaw, + sombrero, or broadcloth. The woods are there, the plains, the rivers. Snow + is there, and the line of the prairie. Mountain peaks and still pine + forests have impressed themselves subtly; so that when we turn to admire + his unconsciously graceful swing, we seem to hear the ax biting the pine, + or the prospector's pick tapping the rock. And in his eye is the + capability of quiet humor, which is just the quality that the surmounting + of many difficulties will give a man. + </p> + <p> + Like the nature he has fought until he understands, his disposition is at + once kindly and terrible. Outside the subtleties of his calling, he sees + only red. Relieved of the strenuousness of his occupation, he turns all + the force of the wonderful energies that have carried him far where other + men would have halted, to channels in which a gentle current makes flood + enough. It is the mountain torrent and the canal. Instead of pleasure, he + seeks orgies. He runs to wild excesses of drinking, fighting, and + carousing—which would frighten most men to sobriety—with a + happy, reckless spirit that carries him beyond the limits of even his + extraordinary forces. + </p> + <p> + This is not the moment to judge him. And yet one cannot help admiring the + magnificently picturesque spectacle of such energies running riot. The + power is still in evidence, though beyond its proper application. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter II + </h2> + <p> + In the network of streams draining the eastern portion of Michigan and + known as the Saginaw waters, the great firm of Morrison & Daly had for + many years carried on extensive logging operations in the wilderness. The + number of their camps was legion, of their employees a multitude. Each + spring they had gathered in their capacious booms from thirty to fifty + million feet of pine logs. + </p> + <p> + Now at last, in the early eighties, they reached the end of their + holdings. Another winter would finish the cut. Two summers would see the + great mills at Beeson Lake dismantled or sold, while Mr. Daly, the “woods + partner” of the combination, would flit away to the scenes of new and + perhaps more extensive operations. At this juncture Mr. Daly called to him + John Radway, a man whom he knew to possess extensive experience, a little + capital, and a desire for more of both. + </p> + <p> + “Radway,” said he, when the two found themselves alone in the mill office, + “we expect to cut this year some fifty millions, which will finish our + pine holdings in the Saginaw waters. Most of this timber lies over in the + Crooked Lake district, and that we expect to put in ourselves. We own, + however, five million on the Cass Branch which we would like to log on + contract. Would you care to take the job?” + </p> + <p> + “How much a thousand do you give?” asked Radway. + </p> + <p> + “Four dollars,” replied the lumberman. + </p> + <p> + “I'll look at it,” replied the jobber. + </p> + <p> + So Radway got the “descriptions” and a little map divided into townships, + sections, and quarter sections; and went out to look at it. He searched + until he found a “blaze” on a tree, the marking on which indicated it as + the corner of a section. From this corner the boundary lines were blazed + at right angles in either direction. Radway followed the blazed lines. + Thus he was able accurately to locate isolated “forties” (forty acres), + “eighties,” quarter sections, and sections in a primeval wilderness. The + feat, however, required considerable woodcraft, an exact sense of + direction, and a pocket compass. + </p> + <p> + These resources were still further drawn upon for the next task. Radway + tramped the woods, hills, and valleys to determine the most practical + route over which to build a logging road from the standing timber to the + shores of Cass Branch. He found it to be an affair of some puzzlement. The + pines stood on a country rolling with hills, deep with pot-holes. It + became necessary to dodge in and out, here and there, between the knolls, + around or through the swamps, still keeping, however, the same general + direction, and preserving always the requisite level or down grade. Radway + had no vantage point from which to survey the country. A city man would + promptly have lost himself in the tangle; but the woodsman emerged at last + on the banks of the stream, leaving behind him a meandering trail of + clipped trees that wound, twisted, doubled, and turned, but kept ever to a + country without steep hills. From the main road he purposed arteries to + tap the most distant parts. + </p> + <p> + “I'll take it,” said he to Daly. + </p> + <p> + Now Radway happened to be in his way a peculiar character. He was acutely + sensitive to the human side of those with whom he had dealings. In fact, + he was more inclined to take their point of view than to hold his own. For + that reason, the subtler disputes were likely to go against him. His + desire to avoid coming into direct collision of opinion with the other + man, veiled whatever of justice might reside in his own contention. + Consequently it was difficult for him to combat sophistry or a plausible + appearance of right. Daly was perfectly aware of Radway's peculiarities, + and so proceeded to drive a sharp bargain with him. + </p> + <p> + Customarily a jobber is paid a certain proportion of the agreed price as + each stage of the work is completed—so much when the timber is cut; + so much when it is skidded, or piled; so much when it is stacked at the + river, or banked; so much when the “drive” down the waters of the river is + finished. Daly objected to this method of procedure. + </p> + <p> + “You see, Radway,” he explained, “it is our last season in the country. + When this lot is in, we want to pull up stakes, so we can't take any + chances on not getting that timber in. If you don't finish your Job, it + keeps us here another season. There can be no doubt, therefore, that you + finish your job. In other words, we can't take any chances. If you start + the thing, you've got to carry it 'way through.” + </p> + <p> + “I think I can, Mr. Daly,” the jobber assured him. + </p> + <p> + “For that reason,” went on Daly, “we object to paying you as the work + progresses. We've got to have a guarantee that you don't quit on us, and + that those logs will be driven down the branch as far as the river in time + to catch our drive. Therefore I'm going to make you a good price per + thousand, but payable only when the logs are delivered to our rivermen.” + </p> + <p> + Radway, with his usual mental attitude of one anxious to justify the other + man, ended by seeing only his employer's argument. He did not perceive + that the latter's proposition introduced into the transaction a gambling + element. It became possible for Morrison & Daly to get a certain + amount of work, short of absolute completion, done for nothing. + </p> + <p> + “How much does the timber estimate?” he inquired finally. + </p> + <p> + “About five millions.” + </p> + <p> + “I'd need a camp of forty or fifty men then. I don't see how I can run + such a camp without borrowing.” + </p> + <p> + “You have some money, haven't you?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; a little. But I have a family, too.” + </p> + <p> + “That's all right. Now look here.” Daly drew towards him a sheet of paper + and began to set down figures showing how the financing could be done. + Finally it was agreed. Radway was permitted to draw on the Company's + warehouse for what provisions he would need. Daly let him feel it as a + concession. + </p> + <p> + All this was in August. Radway, who was a good practical woodsman, set + about the job immediately. He gathered a crew, established his camp, and + began at once to cut roads through the country he had already blazed on + his former trip. + </p> + <p> + Those of us who have ever paused to watch a group of farmers working out + their road taxes, must have gathered a formidable impression of + road-clearing. And the few of us who, besides, have experienced the + adventure of a drive over the same highway after the tax has been + pronounced liquidated, must have indulged in varied reflections as to the + inadequacy of the result. + </p> + <p> + Radway's task was not merely to level out and ballast the six feet of a + road-bed already constructed, but to cut a way for five miles through the + unbroken wilderness. The way had moreover to be not less than twenty-five + feet wide, needed to be absolutely level and free from any kind of + obstructions, and required in the swamps liberal ballasting with poles, + called corduroys. To one who will take the trouble to recall the variety + of woods, thickets, and jungles that go to make up a wooded country—especially + in the creek bottoms where a logging road finds often its levelest way—and + the piles of windfalls, vines, bushes, and scrubs that choke the thickets + with a discouraging and inextricable tangle, the clearing of five miles to + street width will look like an almost hopeless undertaking. Not only must + the growth be removed, but the roots must be cut out, and the inequalities + of the ground levelled or filled up. Reflect further that Radway had but a + brief time at his disposal,—but a few months at most,—and you + will then be in a position to gauge the first difficulties of those the + American pioneer expects to encounter as a matter of course. The cutting + of the road was a mere incident in the battle with the wilderness. + </p> + <p> + The jobber, of course, pushed his roads as rapidly as possible, but was + greatly handicapped by lack of men. Winter set in early and surprised him + with several of the smaller branches yet to finish. The main line, + however, was done. + </p> + <p> + At intervals squares were cut out alongside. In them two long timbers, or + skids, were laid andiron-wise for the reception of the piles of logs which + would be dragged from the fallen trees. They were called skidways. Then + finally the season's cut began. + </p> + <p> + The men who were to fell the trees, Radway distributed along one boundary + of a “forty.” They were instructed to move forward across the forty in a + straight line, felling every pine tree over eight inches in diameter. + While the “saw-gangs,” three in number, prepared to fell the first trees, + other men, called “swampers,” were busy cutting and clearing of roots + narrow little trails down through the forest from the pine to the skidway + at the edge of the logging road. The trails were perhaps three feet wide, + and marvels of smoothness, although no attempt was made to level mere + inequalities of the ground. They were called travoy roads (French + “travois”). Down them the logs would be dragged and hauled, either by + means of heavy steel tongs or a short sledge on which one end of the + timber would be chained. + </p> + <p> + Meantime the sawyers were busy. Each pair of men selected a tree, the + first they encountered over the blazed line of their “forty.” After + determining in which direction it was to fall, they set to work to chop a + deep gash in that side of the trunk. + </p> + <p> + Tom Broadhead and Henry Paul picked out a tremendous pine which they + determined to throw across a little open space in proximity to the travoy + road. One stood to right, the other to left, and alternately their axes + bit deep. It was a beautiful sight this, of experts wielding their tools. + The craft of the woodsman means incidentally such a free swing of the + shoulders and hips, such a directness of stroke as the blade of one sinks + accurately in the gash made by the other, that one never tires of watching + the grace of it. Tom glanced up as a sailor looks aloft. + </p> + <p> + “She'll do, Hank,” he said. + </p> + <p> + The two then with a dozen half clips of the ax, removed the inequalities + of the bark from the saw's path. The long, flexible ribbon of steel began + to sing, bending so adaptably to the hands and motions of the men + manipulating, that it did not seem possible so mobile an instrument could + cut the rough pine. In a moment the song changed timbre. Without a word + the men straightened their backs. Tom flirted along the blade a thin + stream of kerosene oil from a bottle in his hip pocket, and the sawyers + again bent to their work, swaying back and forth rhythmically, their + muscles rippling under the texture of their woolens like those of a + panther under its skin. The outer edge of the saw-blade disappeared. + </p> + <p> + “Better wedge her, Tom,” advised Hank. + </p> + <p> + They paused while, with a heavy sledge, Tom drove a triangle of steel into + the crack made by the sawing. This prevented the weight of the tree from + pinching the saw, which is a ruin at once to the instrument and the temper + of the filer. Then the rhythmical z-z-z! z-z-z! again took up its song. + </p> + <p> + When the trunk was nearly severed, Tom drove another and thicker wedge. + </p> + <p> + “Timber!” hallooed Hank in a long-drawn melodious call that melted through + the woods into the distance. The swampers ceased work and withdrew to + safety. + </p> + <p> + But the tree stood obstinately upright. So the saw leaped back and forth a + few strokes more. + </p> + <p> + “Crack!” called the tree. + </p> + <p> + Hank coolly unhooked his saw handle, and Tom drew the blade through and + out the other side. + </p> + <p> + The tree shivered, then leaded ever so slightly from the perpendicular, + then fell, at first gently, afterwards with a crescendo rush, tearing + through the branches of other trees, bending the small timber, breaking + the smallest, and at last hitting with a tremendous crash and bang which + filled the air with a fog of small twigs, needles, and the powder of snow, + that settled but slowly. There is nothing more impressive than this rush + of a pine top, excepting it be a charge of cavalry or the fall of Niagara. + Old woodsmen sometimes shout aloud with the mere excitement into which it + lifts them. + </p> + <p> + Then the swampers, who had by now finished the travoy road, trimmed the + prostrate trunk clear of all protuberances. It required fairly skillful ax + work. The branches had to be shaved close and clear, and at the same time + the trunk must not be gashed. And often a man was forced to wield his + instrument from a constrained position. + </p> + <p> + The chopped branches and limbs had now to be dragged clear and piled. + While this was being finished, Tom and Hank marked off and sawed the log + lengths, paying due attention to the necessity of avoiding knots, forks, + and rotten places. Thus some of the logs were eighteen, some sixteen, or + fourteen, and some only twelve feet in length. + </p> + <p> + Next appeared the teamsters with their little wooden sledges, their steel + chains, and their tongs. They had been helping the skidders to place the + parallel and level beams, or skids, on which the logs were to be piled by + the side of the road. The tree which Tom and Hank had just felled lay up a + gentle slope from the new travoy road, so little Fabian Laveque, the + teamster, clamped the bite of his tongs to the end of the largest, or + butt, log. + </p> + <p> + “Allez, Molly!” he cried. + </p> + <p> + The horse, huge, elephantine, her head down, nose close to her chest, + intelligently spying her steps, moved. The log half rolled over, slid + three feet, and menaced a stump. + </p> + <p> + “Gee!” cried Laveque. + </p> + <p> + Molly stepped twice directly sideways, planted her fore foot on a root she + had seen, and pulled sharply. The end of the log slid around the stump. + </p> + <p> + “Allez!” commanded Laveque. + </p> + <p> + And Molly started gingerly down the hill. She pulled the timber, heavy as + an iron safe, here and there through the brush, missing no steps, making + no false moves, backing, and finally getting out of the way of an + unexpected roll with the ease and intelligence of Laveque himself. In five + minutes the burden lay by the travoy road. In two minutes more one end of + it had been rolled on the little flat wooden sledge and, the other end + dragging, it was winding majestically down through the ancient forest. The + little Frenchman stood high on the forward end. Molly stepped ahead + carefully, with the strange intelligence of the logger's horse. Through + the tall, straight, decorative trunks of trees the little convoy moved + with the massive pomp of a dead warrior's cortege. And little Fabian + Laveque, singing, a midget in the vastness, typified the indomitable + spirit of these conquerors of a wilderness. + </p> + <p> + When Molly and Fabian had travoyed the log to the skidway, they drew it + with a bump across the two parallel skids, and left it there to be rolled + to the top of the pile. + </p> + <p> + Then Mike McGovern and Bob Stratton and Jim Gladys took charge of it. Mike + and Bob were running the cant-hooks, while Jim stood on top of the great + pile of logs already decked. A slender, pliable steel chain, like a gray + snake, ran over the top of the pile and disappeared through a pulley to an + invisible horse,—Jenny, the mate of Molly. Jim threw the end of this + chain down. Bob passed it over and under the log and returned it to Jim, + who reached down after it with the hook of his implement. Thus the stick + of timber rested in a long loop, one end of which led to the invisible + horse, and the other Jim made fast to the top of the pile. He did so by + jamming into another log the steel swamp-hook with which the chain was + armed. When all was made fast, the horse started. + </p> + <p> + “She's a bumper!” said Bob. “Look out, Mike!” + </p> + <p> + The log slid to the foot of the two parallel poles laid slanting up the + face of the pile. Then it trembled on the ascent. But one end stuck for an + instant, and at once the log took on a dangerous slant. Quick as light Bob + and Mike sprang forward, gripped the hooks of the cant-hooks, like great + thumbs and forefingers, and, while one held with all his power, the other + gave a sharp twist upward. The log straightened. It was a master feat of + power, and the knack of applying strength justly. + </p> + <p> + At the top of the little incline, the timber hovered for a second. + </p> + <p> + “One more!” sang out Jim to the driver. He poised, stepped lightly up and + over, and avoided by the safe hair's breadth being crushed when the log + rolled. But it did not lie quite straight and even. So Mike cut a short + thick block, and all three stirred the heavy timber sufficiently to admit + of the billet's insertion. + </p> + <p> + Then the chain was thrown down for another. + </p> + <p> + Jenny, harnessed only to a straight short bar with a hook in it, leaned to + her collar and dug in her hoofs at the word of command. The driver, close + to her tail, held fast the slender steel chain by an ingenious hitch about + the ever-useful swamp-hook. When Jim shouted “whoa!” from the top of the + skidway, the driver did not trouble to stop the horse,—he merely let + go the hook. So the power was shut off suddenly, as is meet and proper in + such ticklish business. He turned and walked back, and Jenny, like a dog, + without the necessity of command, followed him in slow patience. + </p> + <p> + Now came Dyer, the scaler, rapidly down the logging road, a small slender + man with a little, turned-up mustache. The men disliked him because of his + affectation of a city smartness, and because he never ate with them, even + when there was plenty of room. Radway had confidence in him because he + lived in the same shanty with him. This one fact a good deal explains + Radway's character. The scaler's duty at present was to measure the + diameter of the logs in each skidway, and so compute the number of board + feet. At the office he tended van, kept the books, and looked after + supplies. + </p> + <p> + He approached the skidway swiftly, laid his flexible rule across the face + of each log, made a mark on his pine tablets in the column to which the + log belonged, thrust the tablet in the pocket of his coat, seized a blue + crayon, in a long holder, with which he made an 8 as indication that the + log had been scaled, and finally tapped several times strongly with a + sledge hammer. On the face of the hammer in relief was an M inside of a + delta. This was the Company's brand, and so the log was branded as + belonging to them. He swarmed all over the skidway, rapid and absorbed, in + strange contrast of activity to the slower power of the actual skidding. + In a moment he moved on to the next scene of operations without having + said a word to any of the men. + </p> + <p> + “A fine t'ing!” said Mike, spitting. + </p> + <p> + So day after day the work went on. Radway spent his time tramping through + the woods, figuring on new work, showing the men how to do things better + or differently, discussing minute expedients with the blacksmith, the + carpenter, the cook. + </p> + <p> + He was not without his troubles. First he had not enough men; the snow + lacked, and then came too abundantly; horses fell sick of colic or caulked + themselves; supplies ran low unexpectedly; trees turned out “punk”; a + certain bit of ground proved soft for travoying, and so on. At + election-time, of course, a number of the men went out. + </p> + <p> + And one evening, two days after election-time, another and important + character entered the North woods and our story. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter III + </h2> + <p> + On the evening in question, some thirty or forty miles southeast of + Radway's camp, a train was crawling over a badly laid track which led + towards the Saginaw Valley. The whole affair was very crude. To the edge + of the right-of-way pushed the dense swamp, like a black curtain shutting + the virgin country from the view of civilization. Even by daylight the + sight could have penetrated but a few feet. The right-of-way itself was + rough with upturned stumps, blackened by fire, and gouged by many and + varied furrows. Across the snow were tracks of animals. + </p> + <p> + The train consisted of a string of freight cars, one coach divided half + and half between baggage and smoker, and a day car occupied by two silent, + awkward women and a child. In the smoker lounged a dozen men. They were of + various sizes and descriptions, but they all wore heavy blanket mackinaw + coats, rubber shoes, and thick German socks tied at the knee. This + constituted, as it were, a sort of uniform. The air was so thick with + smoke that the men had difficulty in distinguishing objects across the + length of the car. + </p> + <p> + The passengers sprawled in various attitudes. Some hung their legs over + the arms of the seats; others perched their feet on the backs of the seats + in front; still others slouched in corners, half reclining. Their + occupations were as diverse. Three nearest the baggage-room door attempted + to sing, but without much success. A man in the corner breathed softly + through a mouth organ, to the music of which his seat mate, leaning his + head sideways, gave close attention. One big fellow with a square beard + swaggered back and forth down the aisle offering to everyone refreshment + from a quart bottle. It was rarely refused. Of the dozen, probably three + quarters were more or less drunk. + </p> + <p> + After a time the smoke became too dense. A short, thick-set fellow with an + evil dark face coolly thrust his heel through a window. The conductor, + who, with the brakeman and baggage master, was seated in the baggage van, + heard the jingle of glass. He arose. + </p> + <p> + “Guess I'll take up tickets,” he remarked. “Perhaps it will quiet the boys + down a little.” + </p> + <p> + The conductor was a big man, raw-boned and broad, with a hawk face. His + every motion showed lean, quick, panther-like power. + </p> + <p> + “Let her went,” replied the brakeman, rising as a matter of course to + follow his chief. + </p> + <p> + The brakeman was stocky, short, and long armed. In the old fighting days + Michigan railroads chose their train officials with an eye to their + superior deltoids. A conductor who could not throw an undesirable fare + through a car window lived a short official life. The two men loomed on + the noisy smoking compartment. + </p> + <p> + “Tickets, please!” clicked the conductor sharply. + </p> + <p> + Most of the men began to fumble about in their pockets, but the three + singers and the one who had been offering the quart bottle did not stir. + </p> + <p> + “Ticket, Jack!” repeated the conductor, “come on, now.” + </p> + <p> + The big bearded man leaned uncertainly against the seat. + </p> + <p> + “Now look here, Bud,” he urged in wheedling tones, “I ain't got no ticket. + You know how it is, Bud. I blows my stake.” He fished uncertainly in his + pocket and produced the quart bottle, nearly empty, “Have a drink?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” said the conductor sharply. + </p> + <p> + “A' right,” replied Jack, amiably, “take one myself.” He tipped the + bottle, emptied it, and hurled it through a window. The conductor paid no + apparent attention to the breaking of the glass. + </p> + <p> + “If you haven't any ticket, you'll have to get off,” said he. + </p> + <p> + The big man straightened up. + </p> + <p> + “You go to hell!” he snorted, and with the sole of his spiked boot + delivered a mighty kick at the conductor's thigh. + </p> + <p> + The official, agile as a wild cat, leaped back, then forward, and knocked + the man half the length of the car. You see, he was used to it. Before + Jack could regain his feet the official stood over him. + </p> + <p> + The three men in the corner had also risen, and were staggering down the + aisle intent on battle. The conductor took in the chances with + professional rapidity. + </p> + <p> + “Get at 'em, Jimmy,” said he. + </p> + <p> + And as the big man finally swayed to his feet, he was seized by the collar + and trousers in the grip known to “bouncers” everywhere, hustled to the + door, which someone obligingly opened, and hurled from the moving train + into the snow. The conductor did not care a straw whether the obstreperous + Jack lit on his head or his feet, hit a snowbank or a pile of ties. Those + were rough days, and the preservation of authority demanded harsh + measures. + </p> + <p> + Jimmy had got at 'em in a method of his own. He gathered himself into a + ball of potential trouble, and hurled himself bodily at the legs of his + opponents which he gathered in a mighty bear hug. It would have been poor + fighting had Jimmy to carry the affair to a finish by himself, but + considered as an expedient to gain time for the ejectment proceedings, it + was admirable. The conductor returned to find a kicking, rolling, gouging + mass of kinetic energy knocking the varnish off all one end of the car. A + head appearing, he coolly batted it three times against a corner of the + seat arm, after which he pulled the contestant out by the hair and threw + him into a seat where he lay limp. Then it could be seen that Jimmy had + clasped tight in his embrace a leg each of the other two. He hugged them + close to his breast, and jammed his face down against them to protect his + features. They could pound the top of his head and welcome. The only thing + he really feared was a kick in the side, and for that there was hardly + room. + </p> + <p> + The conductor stood over the heap, at a manifest advantage. + </p> + <p> + “You lumber-jacks had enough, or do you want to catch it plenty?” + </p> + <p> + The men, drunk though they were, realized their helplessness. They + signified they had had enough. Jimmy thereupon released them and stood up, + brushing down his tousled hair with his stubby fingers. + </p> + <p> + “Now is it ticket or bounce?” inquired the conductor. + </p> + <p> + After some difficulty and grumbling, the two paid their fare and that of + the third, who was still dazed. In return the conductor gave them slips. + Then he picked his lantern from the overhead rack whither he had tossed + it, slung it on his left arm, and sauntered on down the aisle punching + tickets. Behind him followed Jimmy. When he came to the door he swung + across the platform with the easy lurch of the trainman, and entered the + other car, where he took the tickets of the two women and the boy. One + sitting in the second car would have been unable to guess from the bearing + or manner of the two officials that anything had gone wrong. + </p> + <p> + The interested spectators of the little drama included two men near the + water-cooler who were perfectly sober. One of them was perhaps a little + past the best of life, but still straight and vigorous. His lean face was + leather-brown in contrast to a long mustache and heavy eyebrows bleached + nearly white, his eyes were a clear steady blue, and his frame was slender + but wiry. He wore the regulation mackinaw blanket coat, a peaked cap with + an extraordinarily high crown, and buckskin moccasins over long stockings. + </p> + <p> + The other was younger, not more than twenty-six perhaps, with the + clean-cut, regular features we have come to consider typically American. + Eyebrows that curved far down along the temples, and eyelashes of a + darkness in contrast to the prevailing note of his complexion combined to + lend him a rather brooding, soft, and melancholy air which a very cursory + second examination showed to be fictitious. His eyes, like the woodsman's, + were steady, but inquiring. His jaw was square and settled, his mouth + straight. One would be likely to sum him up as a man whose actions would + be little influenced by glamour or even by the sentiments. And yet, + equally, it was difficult to rid the mind of the impression produced by + his eyes. Unlike the other inmates of the car, he wore an ordinary + business suit, somewhat worn, but of good cut, and a style that showed + even over the soft flannel shirt. The trousers were, however, bound inside + the usual socks and rubbers. + </p> + <p> + The two seat mates had occupied their time each in his own fashion. To the + elder the journey was an evil to be endured with the patience learned in + watching deer runways, so he stared straight before him, and spat with a + certain periodicity into the centre of the aisle. The younger stretched + back lazily in an attitude of ease which spoke of the habit of travelling. + Sometimes he smoked a pipe. Thrice he read over a letter. It was from his + sister, and announced her arrival at the little rural village in which he + had made arrangements for her to stay. “It is interesting,—now,” she + wrote, “though the resources do not look as though they would wear well. I + am learning under Mrs. Renwick to sweep and dust and bake and stew and do + a multitude of other things which I always vaguely supposed came + ready-made. I like it; but after I have learned it all, I do not believe + the practise will appeal to me much. However, I can stand it well enough + for a year or two or three, for I am young; and then you will have made + your everlasting fortune, of course.” + </p> + <p> + Harry Thorpe experienced a glow of pride each time he read this part of + the letter. He liked the frankness of the lack of pretence; he admired the + penetration and self-analysis which had taught her the truth that, + although learning a new thing is always interesting, the practising of an + old one is monotonous. And her pluck appealed to him. It is not easy for a + girl to step from the position of mistress of servants to that of helping + about the housework of a small family in a small town for the sake of the + home to be found in it. + </p> + <p> + “She's a trump!” said Thorpe to himself, “and she shall have her + everlasting fortune, if there's such a thing in the country.” + </p> + <p> + He jingled the three dollars and sixty cents in his pocket, and smiled. + That was the extent of his everlasting fortune at present. + </p> + <p> + The letter had been answered from Detroit. + </p> + <p> + “I am glad you are settled,” he wrote. “At least I know you have enough to + eat and a roof over you. I hope sincerely that you will do your best to + fit yourself to your new conditions. I know it is hard, but with my lack + of experience and my ignorance as to where to take hold, it may be a good + many years before we can do any better.” + </p> + <p> + When Helen Thorpe read this, she cried. Things had gone wrong that + morning, and an encouraging word would have helped her. The somber tone of + her brother's communication threw her into a fit of the blues from which, + for the first time, she saw her surroundings in a depressing and + distasteful light. And yet he had written as he did with the kindest + possible motives. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe had the misfortune to be one of those individuals who, though + careless of what people in general may think of them, are in a + corresponding degree sensitive to the opinion of the few they love. This + feeling was further exaggerated by a constitutional shrinking from any + outward manifestation of the emotions. As a natural result, he was often + thought indifferent or discouraging when in reality his natural affections + were at their liveliest. A failure to procure for a friend certain favors + or pleasures dejected him, not only because of that friend's + disappointment, but because, also, he imagined the failure earned him a + certain blame. Blame from his heart's intimates he shrank from. His life + outside the inner circles of his affections was apt to be so militant and + so divorced from considerations of amity, that as a matter of natural + reaction he became inclined to exaggerate the importance of small + objections, little reproaches, slight criticisms from his real friends. + Such criticisms seemed to bring into a sphere he would have liked to keep + solely for the mutual reliance of loving kindness, something of the hard + utilitarianism of the world at large. In consequence he gradually came to + choose the line of least resistance, to avoid instinctively even the + slightly disagreeable. Perhaps for this reason he was never entirely + sincere with those he loved. He showed enthusiasm over any plan suggested + by them, for the reason that he never dared offer a merely problematical + anticipation. The affair had to be absolutely certain in his own mind + before he ventured to admit anyone to the pleasure of looking forward to + it,—and simply because he so feared the disappointment in case + anything should go wrong. He did not realize that not only is the pleasure + of anticipation often the best, but that even disappointment, provided it + happen through excusable causes, strengthens the bonds of affection + through sympathy. We do not want merely results from a friend—merely + finished products. We like to be in at the making, even though the product + spoil. + </p> + <p> + This unfortunate tendency, together with his reserve, lent him the false + attitude of a rather cold, self-centered man, discouraging suggestions at + first only to adopt them later in the most inexplicable fashion, and + conferring favors in a ready-made impersonal manner which destroyed + utterly their quality as favors. In reality his heart hungered for the + affection which this false attitude generally repelled. He threw the wet + blanket of doubt over warm young enthusiasms because his mind worked with + a certain deliberateness which did not at once permit him to see the + practicability of the scheme. Later he would approve. But by that time, + probably, the wet blanket had effectually extinguished the glow. You + cannot always savor your pleasures cold. + </p> + <p> + So after the disgrace of his father, Harry Thorpe did a great deal of + thinking and planning which he kept carefully to himself. He considered in + turn the different occupations to which he could turn his hand, and + negatived them one by one. Few business firms would care to employ the son + of as shrewd an embezzler as Henry Thorpe. Finally he came to a decision. + He communicated this decision to his sister. It would have commended + itself more logically to her had she been able to follow step by step the + considerations that had led her brother to it. As the event turned, she + was forced to accept it blindly. She knew that her brother intended going + West, but as to his hopes and plans she was in ignorance. A little + sympathy, a little mutual understanding would have meant a great deal to + her, for a girl whose mother she but dimly remembers, turns naturally to + her next of kin. Helen Thorpe had always admired her brother, but had + never before needed him. She had looked upon him as strong, + self-contained, a little moody. Now the tone of his letter caused her to + wonder whether he were not also a trifle hard and cold. So she wept on + receiving it, and the tears watered the ground for discontent. + </p> + <p> + At the beginning of the row in the smoking car, Thorpe laid aside his + letter and watched with keen appreciation the direct practicality of the + trainmen's method. When the bearded man fell before the conductor's blow, + he turned to the individual at his side. + </p> + <p> + “He knows how to hit, doesn't he!” he observed. “That fellow was knocked + well off his feet.” + </p> + <p> + “He does,” agreed the other dryly. + </p> + <p> + They fell into a desultory conversation of fits and starts. Woodsmen of + the genuine sort are never talkative; and Thorpe, as has been explained, + was constitutionally reticent. In the course of their disjointed remarks + Thorpe explained that he was looking for work in the woods, and intended, + first of all, to try the Morrison & Daly camps at Beeson Lake. + </p> + <p> + “Know anything about logging?” inquired the stranger. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing,” Thorpe confessed. + </p> + <p> + “Ain't much show for anything but lumber-jacks. What did you think of + doing?” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know,” said Thorpe, doubtfully. “I have driven horses a good + deal; I thought I might drive team.” + </p> + <p> + The woodsman turned slowly and looked Thorpe over with a quizzical eye. + Then he faced to the front again and spat. + </p> + <p> + “Quite like,” he replied still more dryly. + </p> + <p> + The boy's remark had amused him, and he had showed it, as much as he ever + showed anything. Excepting always the riverman, the driver of a team + commands the highest wages among out-of-door workers. He has to be able to + guide his horses by little steps over, through, and around slippery and + bristling difficulties. He must acquire the knack of facing them square + about in their tracks. He must hold them under a control that will throw + into their collars, at command, from five pounds to their full power of + pull, lasting from five seconds to five minutes. And above all, he must be + able to keep them out of the way of tremendous loads of logs on a road + which constant sprinkling has rendered smooth and glassy, at the same time + preventing the long tongue from sweeping them bodily against leg-breaking + debris when a curve in the road is reached. It is easier to drive a fire + engine than a logging team. + </p> + <p> + But in spite of the naivete of the remark, the woodsman had seen something + in Thorpe he liked. Such men become rather expert in the reading of + character, and often in a log shanty you will hear opinions of a + shrewdness to surprise you. He revised his first intention to let the + conversation drop. + </p> + <p> + “I think M. & D. is rather full up just now,” he remarked. “I'm + walkin'-boss there. The roads is about all made, and road-making is what a + greenhorn tackles first. They's more chance earlier in the year. But if + the OLD Fellow” (he strongly accented the first word) “h'aint nothin' for + you, just ask for Tim Shearer, an' I'll try to put you on the trail for + some jobber's camp.” + </p> + <p> + The whistle of the locomotive blew, and the conductor appeared in the + doorway. + </p> + <p> + “Where's that fellow's turkey?” he inquired. + </p> + <p> + Several men looked toward Thorpe, who, not understanding this argot of the + camps, was a little bewildered. Shearer reached over his head and took + from the rack a heavy canvas bag, which he handed to the conductor. + </p> + <p> + “That's the 'turkey'—” he explained, “his war bag. Bud'll throw it + off at Scott's, and Jack'll get it there.” + </p> + <p> + “How far back is he?” asked Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “About ten mile. He'll hoof it in all right.” + </p> + <p> + A number of men descended at Scott's. The three who had come into + collision with Jimmy and Bud were getting noisier. They had produced a + stone jug, and had collected the remainder of the passengers,—with + the exception of Shearer and Thorpe,—and now were passing the jug + rapidly from hand to hand. Soon they became musical, striking up one of + the weird long-drawn-out chants so popular with the shanty boy. Thorpe + shrewdly guessed his companion to be a man of weight, and did not hesitate + to ascribe his immunity from annoyance to the other's presence. + </p> + <p> + “It's a bad thing,” said the walking-boss, “I used to be at it myself, and + I know. When I wanted whisky, I needed it worse than a scalded pup does a + snow bank. The first year I had a hundred and fifty dollars, and I blew + her all in six days. Next year I had a little more, but she lasted me + three weeks. That was better. Next year, I says to myself, I'll just save + fifty of that stake, and blow the rest. So I did. After that I got to be + scaler, and sort've quit. I just made a deal with the Old Fellow to leave + my stake with headquarters no matter whether I call for it or not. I got + quite a lot coming, now.” + </p> + <p> + “Bees'n Lake!” cried Jimmy fiercely through an aperture of the door. + </p> + <p> + “You'll find th' boardin'-house just across over the track,” said the + woodsman, holding out his hand, “so long. See you again if you don't find + a job with the Old Fellow. My name's Shearer.” + </p> + <p> + “Mine is Thorpe,” replied the other. “Thank you.” + </p> + <p> + The woodsman stepped forward past the carousers to the baggage + compartment, where he disappeared. The revellers stumbled out the other + door. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe followed and found himself on the frozen platform of a little dark + railway station. As he walked, the boards shrieked under his feet and the + sharp air nipped at his face and caught his lungs. Beyond the fence-rail + protection to the side of the platform he thought he saw the suggestion of + a broad reach of snow, a distant lurking forest, a few shadowy buildings + looming mysterious in the night. The air was twinkling with frost and the + brilliant stars of the north country. + </p> + <p> + Directly across the track from the railway station, a single building was + picked from the dark by a solitary lamp in a lower-story room. The four + who had descended before Thorpe made over toward this light, stumbling and + laughing uncertainly, so he knew it was probably in the boarding-house, + and prepared to follow them. Shearer and the station agent,—an + individual much muffled,—turned to the disposition of some light + freight that had been dropped from the baggage car. + </p> + <p> + The five were met at the steps by the proprietor of the boarding-house. + This man was short and stout, with a harelip and cleft palate, which at + once gave him the well-known slurring speech of persons so afflicted, and + imparted also to the timbre of his voice a peculiarly hollow, resonant, + trumpet-like note. He stumped about energetically on a wooden leg of home + manufacture. It was a cumbersome instrument, heavy, with deep pine socket + for the stump, and a projecting brace which passed under a leather belt + around the man's waist. This instrument he used with the dexterity of a + third hand. As Thorpe watched him, he drove in a projecting nail, kicked + two “turkeys” dexterously inside the open door, and stuck the armed end of + his peg-leg through the top and bottom of the whisky jug that one of the + new arrivals had set down near the door. The whisky promptly ran out. At + this the cripple flirted the impaled jug from the wooden leg far out over + the rail of the verandah into the snow. + </p> + <p> + A growl went up. + </p> + <p> + “What'n hell's that for I!” snarled one of the owners of the whisky + threateningly. + </p> + <p> + “Don't allow no whisky here,” snuffed the harelip. + </p> + <p> + The men were very angry. They advanced toward the cripple, who retreated + with astonishing agility to the lighted room. There he bent the wooden leg + behind him, slipped the end of the brace from beneath the leather belt, + seized the other, peg end in his right hand, and so became possessed of a + murderous bludgeon. This he brandished, hopping at the same time back and + forth in such perfect poise and yet with so ludicrous an effect of popping + corn, that the men were surprised into laughing. + </p> + <p> + “Bully for you, peg-leg!” they cried. + </p> + <p> + “Rules 'n regerlations, boys,” replied the latter, without, however, a + shade of compromising in his tones. “Had supper?” + </p> + <p> + On receiving a reply in the affirmative, he caught up the lamp, and, + having resumed his artificial leg in one deft motion, led the way to + narrow little rooms. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter IV + </h2> + <p> + Thorpe was awakened a long time before daylight by the ringing of a noisy + bell. He dressed, shivering, and stumbled down stairs to a round stove, + big as a boiler, into which the cripple dumped huge logs of wood from time + to time. After breakfast Thorpe returned to this stove and sat half dozing + for what seemed to him untold ages. The cold of the north country was + initiating him. + </p> + <p> + Men came in, smoked a brief pipe, and went out. Shearer was one of them. + The woodsman nodded curtly to the young man, his cordiality quite gone. + Thorpe vaguely wondered why. After a time he himself put on his overcoat + and ventured out into the town. It seemed to Thorpe a meager affair, built + of lumber, mostly unpainted, with always the dark, menacing fringe of the + forest behind. The great saw mill, with its tall stacks and its row of + water-barrels—protection against fire—on top, was the dominant + note. Near the mill crouched a little red-painted structure from whose + stovepipe a column of white smoke rose, attesting the cold, a clear + hundred feet straight upward, and to whose door a number of men were + directing their steps through the snow. Over the door Thorpe could + distinguish the word “Office.” He followed and entered. + </p> + <p> + In a narrow aisle railed off from the main part of the room waited + Thorpe's companions of the night before. The remainder of the office gave + accommodation to three clerks. One of these glanced up inquiringly as + Thorpe came in. + </p> + <p> + “I am looking for work,” said Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “Wait there,” briefly commanded the clerk. + </p> + <p> + In a few moments the door of the inner room opened, and Shearer came out. + A man's head peered from within. + </p> + <p> + “Come on, boys,” said he. + </p> + <p> + The five applicants shuffled through. Thorpe found himself in the presence + of a man whom he felt to be the natural leader of these wild, independent + spirits. He was already a little past middle life, and his form had lost + the elastic vigor of youth. But his eye was keen, clear, and wrinkled to a + certain dry facetiousness; and his figure was of that bulk which gives an + impression of a subtler weight and power than the merely physical. This + peculiarity impresses us in the portraits of such men as Daniel Webster + and others of the old jurists. The manner of the man was easy, + good-natured, perhaps a little facetious, but these qualities were worn + rather as garments than exhibited as characteristics. He could afford + them, not because he had fewer difficulties to overcome or battles to + fight than another, but because his strength was so sufficient to them + that mere battles or difficulties could not affect the deliberateness of + his humor. You felt his superiority even when he was most comradely with + you. This man Thorpe was to meet under other conditions, wherein the steel + hand would more plainly clink the metal. + </p> + <p> + He was now seated in a worn office chair before a littered desk. In the + close air hung the smell of stale cigars and the clear fragrance of pine. + </p> + <p> + “What is it, Dennis?” he asked the first of the men. + </p> + <p> + “I've been out,” replied the lumberman. “Have you got anything for me, Mr. + Daly?” + </p> + <p> + The mill-owner laughed. + </p> + <p> + “I guess so. Report to Shearer. Did you vote for the right man, Denny?” + </p> + <p> + The lumberman grinned sheepishly. “I don't know, sir. I didn't get that + far.” + </p> + <p> + “Better let it alone. I suppose you and Bill want to come back, too?” he + added, turning to the next two in the line. “All right, report to Tim. Do + you want work?” he inquired of the last of the quartette, a big bashful + man with the shoulders of a Hercules. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir,” answered the latter uncomfortably. + </p> + <p> + “What do you do?” + </p> + <p> + “I'm a cant-hook man, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Where have you worked?” + </p> + <p> + “I had a job with Morgan & Stebbins on the Clear River last winter.” + </p> + <p> + “All right, we need cant-hook men. Report at 'seven,' and if they don't + want you there, go to 'thirteen.'” + </p> + <p> + Daly looked directly at the man with an air of finality. The lumberman + still lingered uneasily, twisting his cap in his hands. + </p> + <p> + “Anything you want?” asked Daly at last. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir,” blurted the big man. “If I come down here and tell you I want + three days off and fifty dollars to bury my mother, I wish you'd tell me + to go to hell! I buried her three times last winter!” + </p> + <p> + Daly chuckled a little. + </p> + <p> + “All right, Bub,” said he, “to hell it is.” + </p> + <p> + The man went out. Daly turned to Thorpe with the last flickers of + amusement in his eyes. + </p> + <p> + “What can I do for you?” he inquired in a little crisper tones. Thorpe + felt that he was not treated with the same careless familiarity, because, + potentially, he might be more of a force to deal with. He underwent, too, + the man's keen scrutiny, and knew that every detail of his appearance had + found its comment in the other's experienced brain. + </p> + <p> + “I am looking for work,” Thorpe replied. + </p> + <p> + “What kind of work?” + </p> + <p> + “Any kind, so I can learn something about the lumber business.” + </p> + <p> + The older man studied him keenly for a few moments. + </p> + <p> + “Have you had any other business experience?” + </p> + <p> + “None.” + </p> + <p> + “What have you been doing?” + </p> + <p> + “Nothing.” + </p> + <p> + The lumberman's eyes hardened. + </p> + <p> + “We are a very busy firm here,” he said with a certain deliberation; “we + do not carry a big force of men in any one department, and each of those + men has to fill his place and slop some over the sides. We do not pretend + or attempt to teach here. If you want to be a lumberman, you must learn + the lumber business more directly than through the windows of a + bookkeeper's office. Go into the woods. Learn a few first principles. Find + out the difference between Norway and white pine, anyway.” + </p> + <p> + Daly, being what is termed a self-made man, entertained a prejudice + against youths of the leisure class. He did not believe in their + earnestness of purpose, their capacity for knowledge, nor their + perseverance in anything. That a man of twenty-six should be looking for + his first situation was incomprehensible to him. He made no effort to + conceal his prejudice, because the class to which the young man had + belonged enjoyed his hearty contempt. + </p> + <p> + The truth is, he had taken Thorpe's ignorance a little too much for + granted. Before leaving his home, and while the project of emigration was + still in the air, the young fellow had, with the quiet enthusiasm of men + of his habit of mind, applied himself to the mastering of whatever the + books could teach. That is not much. The literature on lumbering seems to + be singularly limited. Still he knew the trees, and had sketched an + outline into which to paint experience. He said nothing of this to the man + before him, because of that strange streak in his nature which prompted + him to conceal what he felt most strongly; to leave to others the task of + guessing out his attitude; to stand on appearances without attempting to + justify them, no matter how simple the justification might be. A moment's + frank, straightforward talk might have caught Daly's attention, for the + lumberman was, after all, a shrewd reader of character where his + prejudices were not concerned. Then events would have turned out very + differently. + </p> + <p> + After his speech the business man had whirled back to his desk. + </p> + <p> + “Have you anything for me to do in the woods, then?” the other asked + quietly. + </p> + <p> + “No,” said Daly over his shoulder. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe went out. + </p> + <p> + Before leaving Detroit he had, on the advice of friends, visited the city + office of Morrison & Daly. There he had been told positively that the + firm were hiring men. Now, without five dollars in his pocket, he made the + elementary discovery that even in chopping wood skilled labor counts. He + did not know where to turn next, and he would not have had the money to go + far in any case. So, although Shearer's brusque greeting that morning had + argued a lack of cordiality, he resolved to remind the riverman of his + promised assistance. + </p> + <p> + That noon he carried out his resolve. To his surprise Shearer was cordial—in + his way. He came afterward to appreciate the subtle nuances of manner and + treatment by which a boss retains his moral supremacy in a lumber country,—repels + that too great familiarity which breeds contempt, without imperiling the + trust and comradeship which breeds willingness. In the morning Thorpe had + been a prospective employee of the firm, and so a possible subordinate of + Shearer himself. Now he was Shearer's equal. + </p> + <p> + “Go up and tackle Radway. He's jobbing for us on the Cass Branch. He needs + men for roadin', I know, because he's behind. You'll get a job there.” + </p> + <p> + “Where is it?” asked Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “Ten miles from here. She's blazed, but you better wait for th' supply + team, Friday. If you try to make her yourself, you'll get lost on some of + th' old loggin' roads.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe considered. + </p> + <p> + “I'm busted,” he said at last frankly. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, that's all right,” replied the walking-boss. “Marshall, come here!” + </p> + <p> + The peg-legged boarding-house keeper stumped in. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” he trumpeted snufflingly. + </p> + <p> + “This boy wants a job till Friday. Then he's going up to Radway's with the + supply team. Now quit your hollerin' for a chore-boy for a few days.” + </p> + <p> + “All right,” snorted Marshall, “take that ax and split some dry wood that + you'll find behind the house.” + </p> + <p> + “I'm very much obliged to you,” began Thorpe to the walking-boss, “and—” + </p> + <p> + “That's all right,” interrupted the latter, “some day you can give me a + job.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter V + </h2> + <p> + For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and + ran errands. Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain + to the distant forest. He had imagination. No business man succeeds + without it. With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and + aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the + proportions of a battle. The distant forest was the front. To it went the + new bands of fighters. From it came the caissons for food, that ammunition + of the frontier; messengers bringing tidings of defeat or victory; + sometimes men groaning on their litters from the twisting and crushing and + breaking inflicted on them by the calm, ruthless enemy; once a dead man + bearing still on his chest the mark of the tree that had killed him. Here + at headquarters sat the general, map in hand, issuing his orders, + directing his forces. + </p> + <p> + And out of the forest came mystery. Hunters brought deer on sledges. + Indians, observant and grave, swung silently across the reaches on their + snowshoes, and silently back again carrying their meager purchases. In the + daytime ravens wheeled and croaked about the outskirts of the town, + bearing the shadow of the woods on their plumes and of the north-wind in + the somber quality of their voices; rare eagles wheeled gracefully to and + fro; snow squalls coquetted with the landscape. At night the many + creatures of the forest ventured out across the plains in search of food,—weasels; + big white hares; deer, planting daintily their little sharp hoofs where + the frozen turnips were most plentiful; porcupines in quest of anything + they could get their keen teeth into;—and often the big timber + wolves would send shivering across the waste a long whining howl. And in + the morning their tracks would embroider the snow with many stories. + </p> + <p> + The talk about the great stove in the boarding-house office also possessed + the charm of balsam fragrance. One told the other occult facts about the + “Southeast of the southwest of eight.” The second in turn vouchsafed + information about another point of the compass. Thorpe heard of many + curious practical expedients. He learned that one can prevent awkward + air-holes in lakes by “tapping” the ice with an ax,—for the air must + get out, naturally or artificially; that the top log on a load should not + be large because of the probability, when one side has dumped with a rush, + of its falling straight down from its original height, so breaking the + sleigh; that a thin slice of salt pork well peppered is good when tied + about a sore throat; that choking a horse will cause him to swell up and + float on the top of the water, thus rendering it easy to slide him out on + the ice from a hole he may have broken into; that a tree lodged against + another may be brought to the ground by felling a third against it; that + snowshoes made of caribou hide do not become baggy, because caribou + shrinks when wet, whereas other rawhide stretches. These, and many other + things too complicated to elaborate here, he heard discussed by expert + opinion. Gradually he acquired an enthusiasm for the woods, just as a boy + conceives a longing for the out-of-door life of which he hears in the + conversation of his elders about the winter fire. He became eager to get + away to the front, to stand among the pines, to grapple with the + difficulties of thicket, hill, snow, and cold that nature silently + interposes between the man and his task. + </p> + <p> + At the end of the week he received four dollars from his employer; dumped + his valise into a low bobsleigh driven by a man muffled in a fur coat; + assisted in loading the sleigh with a variety of things, from Spearhead + plug to raisins; and turned his face at last toward the land of his hopes + and desires. + </p> + <p> + The long drive to camp was at once a delight and a misery to him. Its + miles stretched longer and longer as time went on; and the miles of a + route new to a man are always one and a half at least. The forest, so + mysterious and inviting from afar, drew within itself coldly when Thorpe + entered it. He was as yet a stranger. The snow became the prevailing note. + The white was everywhere, concealing jealously beneath rounded uniformity + the secrets of the woods. And it was cold. First Thorpe's feet became + numb, then his hands, then his nose was nipped, and finally his warm + clothes were lifted from him by invisible hands, and he was left naked to + shivers and tremblings. He found it torture to sit still on the top of the + bale of hay; and yet he could not bear to contemplate the cold shock of + jumping from the sleigh to the ground,—of touching foot to the + chilling snow. The driver pulled up to breathe his horses at the top of a + hill, and to fasten under one runner a heavy chain, which, grinding into + the snow, would act as a brake on the descent. + </p> + <p> + “You're dressed pretty light,” he advised; “better hoof it a ways and get + warm.” + </p> + <p> + The words tipped the balance of Thorpe's decision. He descended stiffly, + conscious of a disagreeable shock from a six-inch jump. + </p> + <p> + In ten minutes, the wallowing, slipping, and leaping after the tail of the + sled had sent his blood tingling to the last of his protesting members. + Cold withdrew. He saw now that the pines were beautiful and solemn and + still; and that in the temple of their columns dwelt winter enthroned. + Across the carpet of the snow wandered the trails of her creatures,—the + stately regular prints of the partridge; the series of pairs made by the + squirrel; those of the weasel and mink, just like the squirrels' except + that the prints were not quite side by side, and that between every other + pair stretched the mark of the animal's long, slender body; the delicate + tracery of the deer mouse; the fan of the rabbit; the print of a baby's + hand that the raccoon left; the broad pad of a lynx; the dog-like trail of + wolves;—these, and a dozen others, all equally unknown, gave Thorpe + the impression of a great mysterious multitude of living things which + moved about him invisible. In a thicket of cedar and scrub willow near the + bed of a stream, he encountered one of those strangely assorted bands of + woods-creatures which are always cruising it through the country. He heard + the cheerful little chickadee; he saw the grave nuthatch with its + appearance of a total lack of humor; he glimpsed a black-and-white + woodpecker or so, and was reviled by a ribald blue jay. Already the + wilderness was taking its character to him. + </p> + <p> + After a little while, they arrived by way of a hill, over which they + plunged into the middle of the camp. Thorpe saw three large buildings, + backed end to end, and two smaller ones, all built of heavy logs, roofed + with plank, and lighted sparsely through one or two windows apiece. The + driver pulled up opposite the space between two of the larger buildings, + and began to unload his provisions. Thorpe set about aiding him, and so + found himself for the first time in a “cook camp.” + </p> + <p> + It was a commodious building,—Thorpe had no idea a log structure + ever contained so much room. One end furnished space for two cooking + ranges and two bunks placed one over the other. Along one side ran a broad + table-shelf, with other shelves over it and numerous barrels underneath, + all filled with cans, loaves of bread, cookies, and pies. The center was + occupied by four long bench-flanked tables, down whose middle straggled + utensils containing sugar, apple-butter, condiments, and sauces, and whose + edges were set with tin dishes for about forty men. The cook, a rather + thin-faced man with a mustache, directed where the provisions were to be + stowed; and the “cookee,” a hulking youth, assisted Thorpe and the driver + to carry them in. During the course of the work Thorpe made a mistake. + </p> + <p> + “That stuff doesn't come here,” objected the cookee, indicating a box of + tobacco the newcomer was carrying. “She goes to the 'van.'” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe did not know what the “van” might be, but he replaced the tobacco + on the sleigh. In a few moments the task was finished, with the exception + of a half dozen other cases, which the driver designated as also for the + “van.” The horses were unhitched, and stabled in the third of the big log + buildings. The driver indicated the second. + </p> + <p> + “Better go into the men's camp and sit down 'till th' boss gets in,” he + advised. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe entered a dim, over-heated structure, lined on two sides by a + double tier of large bunks partitioned from one another like cabins of + boats, and centered by a huge stove over which hung slender poles. The + latter were to dry clothes on. Just outside the bunks ran a straight hard + bench. Thorpe stood at the entrance trying to accustom his eyes to the + dimness. + </p> + <p> + “Set down,” said a voice, “on th' floor if you want to; but I'd prefer th' + deacon seat.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe obediently took position on the bench, or “deacon seat.” His eyes, + more used to the light, could make out a thin, tall, bent old man, with + bare cranium, two visible teeth, and a three days' stubble of white beard + over his meager, twisted face. + </p> + <p> + He caught, perhaps, Thorpe's surprised expression. + </p> + <p> + “You think th' old man's no good, do you?” he cackled, without the + slightest malice, “looks is deceivin'!” He sprang up swiftly, seized the + toe of his right foot in his left hand, and jumped his left foot through + the loop thus formed. Then he sat down again, and laughed at Thorpe's + astonishment. + </p> + <p> + “Old Jackson's still purty smart,” said he. “I'm barn-boss. They ain't a + man in th' country knows as much about hosses as I do. We ain't had but + two sick this fall, an' between you an' me, they's a skate lot. You're a + greenhorn, ain't you?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” confessed Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Jackson, reflectively but rapidly, “Le Fabian, he's quiet but + bad; and O'Grady, he talks loud but you can bluff him; and Perry, he's + only bad when he gets full of red likker; and Norton he's bad when he gets + mad like, and will use axes.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe did not know he was getting valuable points on the camp bullies. + The old man hitched nearer and peered in his face. + </p> + <p> + “They don't bluff you a bit,” he said, “unless you likes them, and then + they can back you way off the skidway.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe smiled at the old fellow's volubility. He did not know how near to + the truth the woodsman's shrewdness had hit; for to himself, as to most + strong characters, his peculiarities were the normal, and therefore the + unnoticed. His habit of thought in respect to other people was rather + objective than subjective. He inquired so impersonally the significance of + whatever was before him, that it lost the human quality both as to itself + and himself. To him men were things. This attitude relieved him of + self-consciousness. He never bothered his head as to what the other man + thought of him, his ignorance, or his awkwardness, simply because to him + the other man was nothing but an element in his problem. So in such + circumstances he learned fast. Once introduce the human element, however, + and his absurdly sensitive self-consciousness asserted itself. He was, as + Jackson expressed it, backed off the skidway. + </p> + <p> + At dark the old man lit two lamps, which served dimly to gloze the + shadows, and thrust logs of wood into the cast-iron stove. Soon after, the + men came in. They were a queer, mixed lot. Some carried the indisputable + stamp of the frontiersman in their bearing and glance; others looked to be + mere day-laborers, capable of performing whatever task they were set to, + and of finding the trail home again. There were active, clean-built, + precise Frenchmen, with small hands and feet, and a peculiarly trim way of + wearing their rough garments; typical native-born American lumber-jacks + powerful in frame, rakish in air, reckless in manner; big blonde + Scandinavians and Swedes, strong men at the sawing; an Indian or so, + strangely in contrast to the rest; and a variety of Irishmen, Englishmen, + and Canadians. These men tramped in without a word, and set busily to work + at various tasks. Some sat on the “deacon seat” and began to take off + their socks and rubbers; others washed at a little wooden sink; still + others selected and lit lanterns from a pendant row near the window, and + followed old Jackson out of doors. They were the teamsters. + </p> + <p> + “You'll find the old man in the office,” said Jackson. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe made his way across to the small log cabin indicated as the office, + and pushed open the door. He found himself in a little room containing two + bunks, a stove, a counter and desk, and a number of shelves full of + supplies. About the walls hung firearms, snowshoes, and a variety of + clothes. + </p> + <p> + A man sat at the desk placing figures on a sheet of paper. He obtained the + figures from statistics pencilled on three thin leaves of beech-wood + riveted together. In a chair by the stove lounged a bulkier figure, which + Thorpe concluded to be that of the “old man.” + </p> + <p> + “I was sent here by Shearer,” said Thorpe directly; “he said you might + give me some work.” + </p> + <p> + So long a silence fell that the applicant began to wonder if his question + had been heard. + </p> + <p> + “I might,” replied the man drily at last. + </p> + <p> + “Well, will you?” Thorpe inquired, the humor of the situation overcoming + him. + </p> + <p> + “Have you ever worked in the woods?” + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + The man smoked silently. + </p> + <p> + “I'll put you on the road in the morning,” he concluded, as though this + were the deciding qualification. + </p> + <p> + One of the men entered abruptly and approached the counter. The writer at + the desk laid aside his tablets. + </p> + <p> + “What is it, Albert?” he added. + </p> + <p> + “Jot of chewin',” was the reply. + </p> + <p> + The scaler took from the shelf a long plug of tobacco and cut off two + inches. + </p> + <p> + “Ain't hitting the van much, are you, Albert?” he commented, putting the + man's name and the amount in a little book. Thorpe went out, after leaving + his name for the time book, enlightened as to the method of obtaining + supplies. He promised himself some warm clothing from the van, when he + should have worked out the necessary credit. + </p> + <p> + At supper he learned something else,—that he must not talk at table. + A moment's reflection taught him the common-sense of the rule. For one + thing, supper was a much briefer affair than it would have been had every + man felt privileged to take his will in conversation; not to speak of the + absence of noise and the presence of peace. Each man asked for what he + wanted. + </p> + <p> + “Please pass the beans,” he said with the deliberate intonation of a man + who does not expect that his request will be granted. + </p> + <p> + Besides the beans were fried salt pork, boiled potatoes, canned corn, + mince pie, a variety of cookies and doughnuts, and strong green tea. + Thorpe found himself eating ravenously of the crude fare. + </p> + <p> + That evening he underwent a catechism, a few practical jokes, which he + took good-naturedly, and a vast deal of chaffing. At nine the lights were + all out. By daylight he and a dozen other men were at work, hewing a road + that had to be as smooth and level as a New York boulevard. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter VI + </h2> + <p> + Thorpe and four others were set to work on this road, which was to be cut + through a creek bottom leading, he was told, to “seventeen.” The figures + meant nothing to him. Later, each number came to possess an individuality + of its own. He learned to use a double-bitted ax. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe's intelligence was of the practical sort that wonderfully helps + experience. He watched closely one of the older men, and analyzed the + relation borne by each one of his movements to the object in view. In a + short time he perceived that one hand and arm are mere continuations of + the helve, attaching the blade of the ax to the shoulder of the wielder; + and that the other hand directs the stroke. He acquired the knack thus of + throwing the bit of steel into the gash as though it were a baseball on + the end of a string; and so accomplished power. By experiment he learned + just when to slide the guiding hand down the helve; and so gained + accuracy. He suffered none of those accidents so common to new choppers. + His ax did not twist itself from his hands, nor glance to cut his foot. He + attained the method of the double bit, and how to knock roots by alternate + employment of the edge and flat. In a few days his hands became hard and + used to the cold. + </p> + <p> + From shortly after daylight he worked. Four other men bore him company, + and twice Radway himself came by, watched their operations for a moment, + and moved on without comment. After Thorpe had caught his second wind, he + enjoyed his task, proving a certain pleasure in the ease with which he + handled his tool. + </p> + <p> + At the end of an interminable period, a faint, musical halloo swelled, + echoed, and died through the forest, beautiful as a spirit. It was taken + up by another voice and repeated. Then by another. Now near at hand, now + far away it rang as hollow as a bell. The sawyers, the swampers, the + skidders, and the team men turned and put on their heavy blanket coats. + </p> + <p> + Down on the road Thorpe heard it too, and wondered what it might be. + </p> + <p> + “Come on, Bub! she means chew!” explained old man Heath kindly. Old man + Heath was a veteran woodsman who had come to swamping in his old age. He + knew the game thoroughly, but could never save his “stake” when Pat + McGinnis, the saloon man, enticed him in. Throughout the morning he had + kept an eye on the newcomer, and was secretly pleased in his heart of the + professional at the readiness with which the young fellow learned. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe resumed his coat, and fell in behind the little procession. After a + short time he came upon a horse and sledge. Beyond it the cookee had built + a little camp fire, around and over which he had grouped big fifty-pound + lard-tins, half full of hot things to eat. Each man, as he approached, + picked up a tin plate and cup from a pile near at hand. + </p> + <p> + The cookee was plainly master of the situation. He issued peremptory + orders. When Erickson, the blonde Swede, attempted surreptitiously to + appropriate a doughnut, the youth turned on him savagely. + </p> + <p> + “Get out of that, you big tow-head!” he cried with an oath. + </p> + <p> + A dozen Canada jays, fluffy, impatient, perched near by or made little + short circles over and back. They awaited the remains of the dinner. Bob + Stratton and a devil-may-care giant by the name of Nolan constructed a + joke wherewith to amuse the interim. They cut a long pole, and placed it + across a log and through a bush, so that one extremity projected beyond + the bush. Then diplomacy won a piece of meat from the cookee. This they + nailed to the end of the pole by means of a pine sliver. The Canada jays + gazed on the morsel with covetous eyes. When the men had retired, they + swooped. One big fellow arrived first, and lit in defiance of the rest. + </p> + <p> + “Give it to 'im!” whispered Nolan, who had been watching. + </p> + <p> + Bob hit the other end of the pole a mighty whack with his ax. The + astonished jay, projected straight upward by the shock, gave a startled + squawk and cut a hole through the air for the tall timber. Stratton and + Nolan went into convulsions of laughter. + </p> + <p> + “Get at it!” cried the cookee, as though setting a pack of dogs on their + prey. + </p> + <p> + The men ate, perched in various attitudes and places. Thorpe found it + difficult to keep warm. The violent exercise had heated him through, and + now the north country cold penetrated to his bones. He huddled close to + the fire, and drank hot tea, but it did not do him very much good. In his + secret mind he resolved to buy one of the blanket mackinaws that very + evening. He began to see that the costumes of each country have their + origin in practicality. + </p> + <p> + That evening he picked out one of the best. As he was about to inquire the + price, Radway drew the van book toward him, inquiring, + </p> + <p> + “Let's see; what's the name?” + </p> + <p> + In an instant Thorpe was charged on the book with three dollars and a + half, although his work that day had earned him less than a dollar. On his + way back to the men's shanty he could not help thinking how easy it would + be for him to leave the next morning two dollars and a half ahead. He + wondered if this method of procedure obtained in all the camps. + </p> + <p> + The newcomer's first day of hard work had tired him completely. He was + ready for nothing so much as his bunk. But he had forgotten that it was + Saturday night. His status was still to assure. + </p> + <p> + They began with a few mild tricks. Shuffle the Brogan followed Hot Back. + Thorpe took all of it good-naturedly. Finally a tall individual with a + thin white face, a reptilian forehead, reddish hair, and long baboon arms, + suggested tossing in a blanket. Thorpe looked at the low ceiling, and + declined. + </p> + <p> + “I'm with the game as long as you say, boys,” said he, “and I'll have as + much fun as anybody, but that's going too far for a tired man.” + </p> + <p> + The reptilian gentleman let out a string of oaths whose meaning might be + translated, “We'll see about that!” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe was a good boxer, but he knew by now the lumber-jack's method of + fighting,—anything to hurt the other fellow. And in a genuine + old-fashioned knock-down-and-drag-out rough-and-tumble your woodsman is + about the toughest customer to handle you will be likely to meet. He is + brought up on fighting. Nothing pleases him better than to get drunk and, + with a few companions, to embark on an earnest effort to “clean out” a + rival town. And he will accept cheerfully punishment enough to kill three + ordinary men. It takes one of his kind really to hurt him. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe, at the first hostile movement, sprang back to the door, seized one + of the three-foot billets of hardwood intended for the stove, and faced + his opponents. + </p> + <p> + “I don't know which of you boys is coming first,” said he quietly, “but + he's going to get it good and plenty.” + </p> + <p> + If the affair had been serious, these men would never have recoiled before + the mere danger of a stick of hardwood. The American woodsman is afraid of + nothing human. But this was a good-natured bit of foolery, a test of + nerve, and there was no object in getting a broken head for that. The + reptilian gentleman alone grumbled at the abandonment of the attack, + mumbling something profane. + </p> + <p> + “If you hanker for trouble so much,” drawled the unexpected voice of old + Jackson from the corner, “mebbe you could put on th' gloves.” + </p> + <p> + The idea was acclaimed. Somebody tossed out a dirty torn old set of + buckskin boxing gloves. + </p> + <p> + The rest was farce. Thorpe was built on the true athletic lines, broad, + straight shoulders, narrow flanks, long, clean, smooth muscles. He + possessed, besides, that hereditary toughness and bulk which no gymnasium + training will ever quite supply. The other man, while powerful and ugly in + his rushes, was clumsy and did not use his head. Thorpe planted his hard + straight blows at will. In this game he was as manifestly superior as his + opponent would probably have been had the rules permitted kicking, + gouging, and wrestling. Finally he saw his opening and let out with a + swinging pivot blow. The other picked himself out of a corner, and drew + off the gloves. Thorpe's status was assured. + </p> + <p> + A Frenchman took down his fiddle and began to squeak. In the course of the + dance old Jackson and old Heath found themselves together, smoking their + pipes of Peerless. + </p> + <p> + “The young feller's all right,” observed Heath; “he cuffed Ben up to a + peak all right.” + </p> + <p> + “Went down like a peck of wet fish-nets,” replied Jackson tranquilly. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter VII + </h2> + <p> + In the office shanty one evening about a week later, Radway and his scaler + happened to be talking over the situation. The scaler, whose name was + Dyer, slouched back in the shadow, watching his great honest superior as a + crafty, dainty cat might watch the blunderings of a St. Bernard. When he + spoke, it was with a mockery so subtle as quite to escape the perceptions + of the lumberman. Dyer had a precise little black mustache whose ends he + was constantly twisting into points, black eyebrows, and long effeminate + black lashes. You would have expected his dress in the city to be just a + trifle flashy, not enough so to be loud, but sinning as to the trifles of + good taste. The two men conversed in short elliptical sentences, using + many technical terms. + </p> + <p> + “That 'seventeen' white pine is going to underrun,” said Dyer. “It won't + skid over three hundred thousand.” + </p> + <p> + “It's small stuff,” agreed Radway, “and so much the worse for us; but the + Company'll stand in on it because small stuff like that always over-runs + on the mill-cut.” + </p> + <p> + The scaler nodded comprehension. + </p> + <p> + “When you going to dray-haul that Norway across Pike Lake?” + </p> + <p> + “To-morrow. She's springy, but the books say five inches of ice will hold + a team, and there's more than that. How much are we putting in a day, + now?” + </p> + <p> + “About forty thousand.” + </p> + <p> + Radway fell silent. + </p> + <p> + “That's mighty little for such a crew,” he observed at last, doubtfully. + </p> + <p> + “I always said you were too easy with them. You got to drive them more.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, it's a rough country,” apologized Radway, trying, as was his + custom, to find excuses for the other party as soon as he was agreed with + in his blame, “there's any amount of potholes; and, then, we've had so + much snow the ground ain't really froze underneath. It gets pretty soft in + some of them swamps. Can't figure on putting up as much in this country as + we used to down on the Muskegon.” + </p> + <p> + The scaler smiled a thin smile all to himself behind the stove. Big John + Radway depended so much on the moral effect of approval or disapproval by + those with whom he lived. It amused Dyer to withhold the timely word, so + leaving the jobber to flounder between his easy nature and his sense of + what should be done. + </p> + <p> + Dyer knew perfectly well that the work was behind, and he knew the reason. + For some time the men had been relaxing their efforts. They had worked + honestly enough, but a certain snap and vim had lacked. This was because + Radway had been too easy on them. + </p> + <p> + Your true lumber-jack adores of all things in creation a man whom he feels + to be stronger than himself. If his employer is big enough to drive him, + then he is willing to be driven to the last ounce of his strength. But + once he gets the notion that his “boss” is afraid of, or for, him or his + feelings or his health, he loses interest in working for that man. So a + little effort to lighten or expedite his work, a little leniency in + excusing the dilatory finishing of a job, a little easing-up under stress + of weather, are taken as so many indications of a desire to conciliate. + And conciliation means weakness every time. Your lumber-jack likes to be + met front to front, one strong man to another. As you value your + authority, the love of your men, and the completion of your work, keep a + bluff brow and an unbending singleness of purpose. + </p> + <p> + Radway's peculiar temperament rendered him liable to just this mistake. It + was so much easier for him to do the thing himself than to be harsh to the + point of forcing another to it, that he was inclined to take the line of + least resistance when it came to a question of even ordinary diligence. He + sought often in his own mind excuses for dereliction in favor of a man who + would not have dreamed of seeking them for himself. A good many people + would call this kindness of heart. Perhaps it was; the question is a + little puzzling. But the facts were as stated. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe had already commented on the feeling among the men, though, owing + to his inexperience, he was not able to estimate its full value. The men + were inclined to a semi-apologetic air when they spoke of their connection + with the camp. Instead of being honored as one of a series of jobs, this + seemed to be considered as merely a temporary halting-place in which they + took no pride, and from which they looked forward in anticipation or back + in memory to better things. + </p> + <p> + “Old Shearer, he's the bully boy,” said Bob Stratton. “I remember when he + was foremap for M. & D. at Camp 0. Say, we did hustle them saw-logs + in! I should rise to remark! Out in th' woods by first streak o' day. I + recall one mornin' she was pretty cold, an' the boys grumbled some about + turnin' out. 'Cold,' says Tim, 'you sons of guns! You got your ch'ice. It + may be too cold for you in the woods, but it's a damm sight too hot fer + you in hell, an' you're going to one or the other!' And he meant it too. + Them was great days! Forty million a year, and not a hitch.” + </p> + <p> + One man said nothing in the general discussion. It was his first winter in + the woods, and plainly in the eyes of the veterans this experience did not + count. It was a “faute de mieux,” in which one would give an honest day's + work, and no more. + </p> + <p> + As has been hinted, even the inexperienced newcomer noticed the lack of + enthusiasm, of unity. Had he known the loyalty, devotion, and adoration + that a thoroughly competent man wins from his “hands,” the state of + affairs would have seemed even more surprising. The lumber-jack will work + sixteen, eighteen hours a day, sometimes up to the waist in water full of + floating ice; sleep wet on the ground by a little fire; and then next + morning will spring to work at daylight with an “Oh, no, not tired; just a + little stiff, sir!” in cheerful reply to his master's inquiry,—for + the right man! Only it must be a strong man,—with the strength of + the wilderness in his eye. + </p> + <p> + The next morning Radway transferred Molly and Jenny, with little Fabian + Laveque and two of the younger men, to Pike Lake. There, earlier in the + season, a number of pines had been felled out on the ice, cut in logs, and + left in expectation of ice thick enough to bear the travoy “dray.” Owing + to the fact that the shores of Pike Lake were extremely precipitous, it + had been impossible to travoy the logs up over the hill. + </p> + <p> + Radway had sounded carefully the thickness of the ice with an ax. Although + the weather had of late been sufficiently cold for the time of year, the + snow, as often happens, had fallen before the temperature. Under the warm + white blanket, the actual freezing had been slight. However, there seemed + to be at least eight inches of clear ice, which would suffice. + </p> + <p> + Some of the logs in question were found to be half imbedded in the ice. It + became necessary first of all to free them. Young Henrys cut a strong bar + six or eight feet long, while Pat McGuire chopped a hole alongside the + log. Then one end of the bar was thrust into the hole, the logging chain + fastened to the other; and, behold, a monster lever, whose fulcrum was the + ice and whose power was applied by Molly, hitched to the end of the chain. + In this simple manner a task was accomplished in five minutes which would + have taken a dozen men an hour. When the log had been cat-a-cornered from + its bed, the chain was fastened around one end by means of the ever-useful + steel swamp-hook, and it was yanked across the dray. Then the travoy took + its careful way across the ice to where a dip in the shore gave access to + a skidway. + </p> + <p> + Four logs had thus been safely hauled. The fifth was on its journey across + the lake. Suddenly without warning, and with scarcely a sound, both horses + sank through the ice, which bubbled up around them and over their backs in + irregular rotted pieces. Little Fabian Laveque shouted, and jumped down + from his log. Pat McGuire and young Henrys came running. + </p> + <p> + The horses had broken through an air-hole, about which the ice was strong. + Fabian had already seized Molly by the bit, and was holding her head + easily above water. + </p> + <p> + “Kitch Jenny by dat he't!” he cried to Pat. + </p> + <p> + Thus the two men, without exertion, sustained the noses of the team above + the surface. The position demanded absolutely no haste, for it could have + been maintained for a good half hour. Molly and Jenny, their soft eyes + full of the intelligence of the situation, rested easily in full + confidence. But Pat and Henrys, new to this sort of emergency, were badly + frightened and excited. To them the affair had come to a deadlock. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Lord!” cried Pat, clinging desperately to Jenny's headpiece. “What + will we'z be doin'? We can't niver haul them two horses on the ice.” + </p> + <p> + “Tak' de log-chain,” said Fabian to Henrys, “an' tie him around de nec' of + Jenny.” + </p> + <p> + Henrys, after much difficulty and nervous fumbling, managed to loosen the + swamp-hook; and after much more difficulty and nervous fumbling succeeded + in making it fast about the gray mare's neck. Fabian intended with this to + choke the animal to that peculiar state when she would float like a + balloon on the water, and two men could with ease draw her over the edge + of the ice. Then the unexpected happened. + </p> + <p> + The instant Henrys had passed the end of the chain through the knot, Pat, + possessed by some Hibernian notion that now all was fast, let go of the + bit. Jenny's head at once went under, and the end of the logging chain + glided over the ice and fell plump in the hole. + </p> + <p> + Immediately all was confusion. Jenny kicked and struggled, churning the + water, throwing it about, kicking out in every direction. Once a horse's + head dips strongly, the game is over. No animal drowns more quickly. The + two young boys scrambled away, and French oaths could not induce them to + approach. Molly, still upheld by Fabian, looked at him piteously with her + strange intelligent eyes, holding herself motionless and rigid with + complete confidence in this master who had never failed her before. Fabian + dug his heels into the ice, but could not hang on. The drowning horse was + more than a dead weight. Presently it became a question of letting go or + being dragged into the lake on top of the animals. With a sob the little + Frenchman relinquished his hold. The water seemed slowly to rise and + over-film the troubled look of pleading in Molly's eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Assassins!” hissed Laveque at the two unfortunate youths. That was all. + </p> + <p> + When the surface of the waters had again mirrored the clouds, they hauled + the carcasses out on the ice and stripped the harness. Then they rolled + the log from the dray, piled the tools on it, and took their way to camp. + In the blue of the winter's sky was a single speck. + </p> + <p> + The speck grew. Soon it swooped. With a hoarse croak it lit on the snow at + a wary distance, and began to strut back and forth. Presently, its + suspicions at rest, the raven advanced, and with eager beak began its + dreadful meal. By this time another, which had seen the first one's swoop, + was in view through the ether; then another; then another. In an hour the + brotherhood of ravens, thus telegraphically notified, was at feast. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter VIII + </h2> + <p> + Fabian Laveque elaborated the details of the catastrophe with volubility. + </p> + <p> + “Hee's not fonny dat she bre'ks t'rough,” he said. “I 'ave see dem bre'k + t'rough two, t'ree tam in de day, but nevaire dat she get drown! W'en dose + dam-fool can't t'ink wit' hees haid—sacre Dieu! eet is so easy, to + chok' dat cheval—she make me cry wit' de eye!” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose it was a good deal my fault,” commented Radway, doubtfully + shaking his head, after Laveque had left the office. “I ought to have been + surer about the ice.” + </p> + <p> + “Eight inches is a little light, with so much snow atop,” remarked the + scaler carelessly. + </p> + <p> + By virtue of that same careless remark, however, Radway was so confirmed + in his belief as to his own culpability that he quite overlooked Fabian's + just contention—that the mere thinness of the ice was in reality no + excuse for the losing of the horses. So Pat and Henrys were not discharged—were + not instructed to “get their time.” Fabian Laveque promptly demanded his. + </p> + <p> + “Sacre bleu!” said he to old Jackson. “I no work wid dat dam-fool dat no + t'ink wit' hees haid.” + </p> + <p> + This deprived the camp at once of a teamster and a team. When you reflect + that one pair of horses takes care of the exertions of a crew of sawyers, + several swampers, and three or four cant-hook men, you will readily see + what a serious derangement their loss would cause. And besides, the + animals themselves are difficult to replace. They are big strong beasts, + selected for their power, staying qualities, and intelligence, worth + anywhere from three to six hundred dollars a pair. They must be shipped in + from a distance. And, finally, they require a very careful and patient + training before they are of value in co-operating with the nicely adjusted + efforts necessary to place the sawlog where it belongs. Ready-trained + horses are never for sale during the season. + </p> + <p> + Radway did his best. He took three days to search out a big team of farm + horses. Then it became necessary to find a driver. After some deliberation + he decided to advance Bob Stratton to the post, that “decker” having had + more or less experience the year before. Erickson, the Swede, while not a + star cant-hook man, was nevertheless sure and reliable. Radway placed him + in Stratton's place. But now he must find a swamper. He remembered Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + So the young man received his first promotion toward the ranks of skilled + labor. He gained at last a field of application for the accuracy he had so + intelligently acquired while road-making, for now a false stroke marred a + saw-log; and besides, what was more to his taste, he found himself near + the actual scene of operation, at the front, as it were. He had under his + very eyes the process as far as it had been carried. + </p> + <p> + In his experience here he made use of the same searching analytical + observation that had so quickly taught him the secret of the ax-swing. He + knew that each of the things he saw, no matter how trivial, was either + premeditated or the product of chance. If premeditated, he tried to find + out its reason for being. If fortuitous, he wished to know the fact, and + always attempted to figure out the possibility of its elimination. + </p> + <p> + So he learned why and when the sawyers threw a tree up or down hill; how + much small standing timber they tried to fell it through; what + consideration held for the cutting of different lengths of log; how the + timber was skilfully decked on the skids in such a manner that the pile + should not bulge and fall, and so that the scaler could easily determine + the opposite ends of the same log;—in short, a thousand and one + little details which ordinarily a man learns only as the exigencies arise + to call in experience. Here, too, he first realized he was in the firing + line. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe had assigned him as bunk mate the young fellow who assisted Tom + Broadhead in the felling. Henry Paul was a fresh-complexioned, clear-eyed, + quick-mannered young fellow with an air of steady responsibility about + him. He came from the southern part of the State, where, during the + summer, he worked on a little homestead farm of his own. After a few days + he told Thorpe that he was married, and after a few days more he showed + his bunk mate the photograph of a sweet-faced young woman who looked + trustingly out of the picture. + </p> + <p> + “She's waitin' down there for me, and it ain't so very long till spring,” + said Paul wistfully. “She's the best little woman a man ever had, and + there ain't nothin' too good for her, chummy!” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe, soul-sick after his recent experiences with the charity of the + world, discovered a real pleasure in this fresh, clear passion. As he + contemplated the abounding health, the upright carriage, the sparkling, + bubbling spirits of the young woodsman, he could easily imagine the young + girl and the young happiness, too big for a little backwoods farm. + </p> + <p> + Three days after the newcomer had started in at the swamping, Paul, during + their early morning walk from camp to the scene of their operations, + confided in him further. + </p> + <p> + “Got another letter, chummy,” said he, “come in yesterday. She tells me,” + he hesitated with a blush, and then a happy laugh, “that they ain't going + to be only two of us at the farm next year.” + </p> + <p> + “You mean!” queried Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” laughed Paul, “and if it's a girl she gets named after her mother, + you bet.” + </p> + <p> + The men separated. In a moment Thorpe found himself waist-deep in the + pitchy aromatic top of an old bull-sap, clipping away at the projecting + branches. After a time he heard Paul's gay halloo. + </p> + <p> + “TimBER!” came the cry, and then the swish-sh-sh,—CRASH of the + tree's fall. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe knew that now either Hank or Tom must be climbing with the long + measuring pole along the prostrate trunk, marking by means of shallow + ax-clips where the saw was to divide the logs. Then Tom shouted something + unintelligible. The other men seemed to understand, however, for they + dropped their work and ran hastily in the direction of the voice. Thorpe, + after a moment's indecision, did the same. He arrived to find a group + about a prostrate man. The man was Paul. + </p> + <p> + Two of the older woodsmen, kneeling, were conducting coolly a hasty + examination. At the front every man is more or less of a surgeon. + </p> + <p> + “Is he hurt badly?” asked Thorpe; “what is it?” + </p> + <p> + “He's dead,” answered one of the other men soberly. + </p> + <p> + With the skill of ghastly practice some of them wove a litter on which the + body was placed. The pathetic little procession moved in the solemn, + inscrutable forest. + </p> + <p> + When the tree had fallen it had crashed through the top of another, + leaving suspended in the branches of the latter a long heavy limb. A + slight breeze dislodged it. Henry Paul was impaled as by a javelin. + </p> + <p> + This is the chief of the many perils of the woods. Like crouching pumas + the instruments of a man's destruction poise on the spring, sometimes for + days. Then swiftly, silently, the leap is made. It is a danger + unavoidable, terrible, ever-present. Thorpe was destined in time to see + men crushed and mangled in a hundred ingenious ways by the saw log, + knocked into space and a violent death by the butts of trees, ground to + powder in the mill of a jam, but never would he be more deeply impressed + than by this ruthless silent taking of a life. The forces of nature are so + tame, so simple, so obedient; and in the next instant so absolutely beyond + human control or direction, so whirlingly contemptuous of puny human + effort, that in time the wilderness shrouds itself to our eyes in the same + impenetrable mystery as the sea. + </p> + <p> + That evening the camp was unusually quiet. Tellier let his fiddle hang. + After supper Thorpe was approached by Purdy, the reptilian red-head with + whom he had had the row some evenings before. + </p> + <p> + “You in, chummy?” he asked in a quiet voice. “It's a five apiece for + Hank's woman.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + The men were earning from twenty to thirty dollars a month. They had, most + of them, never seen Hank Paul before this autumn. He had not, mainly + because of his modest disposition, enjoyed any extraordinary degree of + popularity. Yet these strangers cheerfully, as a matter of course, gave up + the proceeds of a week's hard work, and that without expecting the + slightest personal credit. The money was sent “from the boys.” Thorpe + later read a heart-broken letter of thanks to the unknown benefactors. It + touched him deeply, and he suspected the other men of the same emotions, + but by that time they had regained the independent, self-contained poise + of the frontiersman. They read it with unmoved faces, and tossed it aside + with a more than ordinarily rough joke or oath. Thorpe understood their + reticence. It was a part of his own nature. He felt more than ever akin to + these men. + </p> + <p> + As swamper he had more or less to do with a cant-hook in helping the + teamsters roll the end of the log on the little “dray.” He soon caught the + knack. Towards Christmas he had become a fairly efficient cant-hook man, + and was helping roll the great sticks of timber up the slanting skids. + Thus always intelligence counts, especially that rare intelligence which + resolves into the analytical and the minutely observing. + </p> + <p> + On Sundays Thorpe fell into the habit of accompanying old Jackson Hines on + his hunting expeditions. The ancient had been raised in the woods. He + seemed to know by instinct the haunts and habits of all the wild animals, + just as he seemed to know by instinct when one of his horses was likely to + be troubled by the colic. His woodcraft was really remarkable. + </p> + <p> + So the two would stand for hours in the early morning and late evening + waiting for deer on the edges of the swamps. They haunted the runways + during the middle of the day. On soft moccasined feet they stole about in + the evening with a bull's-eye lantern fastened on the head of one of them + for a “jack.” Several times they surprised the wolves, and shone the + animals' eyes like the scattered embers of a camp fire. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe learned to shoot at a deer's shoulders rather than his heart, how + to tell when the animal had sustained a mortal hurt from the way it leaped + and the white of its tail. He even made progress in the difficult art of + still hunting, where the man matches his senses against those of the + creatures of the forest,—and sometimes wins. He soon knew better + than to cut the animal's throat, and learned from Hines that a single stab + at a certain point of the chest was much better for the purposes of + bleeding. And, what is more, he learned not to over-shoot down hill. + </p> + <p> + Besides these things Jackson taught him many other, minor, details of + woodcraft. Soon the young man could interpret the thousands of signs, so + insignificant in appearance and so important in reality, which tell the + history of the woods. He acquired the knack of winter fishing. + </p> + <p> + These Sundays were perhaps the most nearly perfect of any of the days of + that winter. In them the young man drew more directly face to face with + the wilderness. He called a truce with the enemy; and in return that great + inscrutable power poured into his heart a portion of her grandeur. His + ambition grew; and, as always with him, his determination became the + greater and the more secret. In proportion as his ideas increased, he took + greater pains to shut them in from expression. For failure in great things + would bring keener disappointment than failure in little. + </p> + <p> + He was getting just the experience and the knowledge he needed; but that + was about all. His wages were twenty-five dollars a month, which his van + bill would reduce to the double eagle. At the end of the winter he would + have but a little over a hundred dollars to show for his season's work, + and this could mean at most only fifty dollars for Helen. But the future + was his. He saw now more plainly what he had dimly perceived before, that + for the man who buys timber, and logs it well, a sure future is waiting. + And in this camp he was beginning to learn from failure the conditions of + success. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter IX + </h2> + <p> + They finished cutting on section seventeen during Thorpe's second week. It + became necessary to begin on section fourteen, which lay two miles to the + east. In that direction the character of the country changed somewhat. + </p> + <p> + The pine there grew thick on isolated “islands” of not more than an acre + or so in extent,—little knolls rising from the level of a marsh. In + ordinary conditions nothing would have been easier than to have ploughed + roads across the frozen surface of this marsh. The peculiar state of the + weather interposed tremendous difficulties. + </p> + <p> + The early part of autumn had been characterized by a heavy snow-fall + immediately after a series of mild days. A warm blanket of some thickness + thus overlaid the earth, effectually preventing the freezing which + subsequent cold weather would have caused. All the season Radway had + contended with this condition. Even in the woods, muddy swamp and + spring-holes caused endless difficulty and necessitated a great deal of + “corduroying,” or the laying of poles side by side to form an artificial + bottom. Here in the open some six inches of water and unlimited mud + awaited the first horse that should break through the layer of snow and + thin ice. Between each pair of islands a road had to be “tramped.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe and the rest were put at this disagreeable job. All day long they + had to walk mechanically back and forth on diagonals between the marks set + by Radway with his snowshoes. Early in the morning their feet were wet by + icy water, for even the light weight of a man sometimes broke the frozen + skin of the marsh. By night a road of trampled snow, of greater or less + length, was marked out across the expanse. Thus the blanket was thrown + back from the warm earth, and thus the cold was given a chance at the + water beneath. In a day or so the road would bear a horse. A bridge of ice + had been artificially constructed, on either side of which lay unsounded + depths. This road was indicated by a row of firs stuck in the snow on + either side. + </p> + <p> + It was very cold. All day long the restless wind swept across the + shivering surface of the plains, and tore around the corners of the + islands. The big woods are as good as an overcoat. The overcoat had been + taken away. + </p> + <p> + When the lunch-sleigh arrived, the men huddled shivering in the lee of one + of the knolls, and tried to eat with benumbed fingers before a fire that + was but a mockery. Often it was nearly dark before their work had warmed + them again. All of the skidways had to be placed on the edges of the + islands themselves, and the logs had to be travoyed over the steep little + knolls. A single misstep out on to the plain meant a mired horse. Three + times heavy snows obliterated the roads, so that they had to be ploughed + out before the men could go to work again. It was a struggle. + </p> + <p> + Radway was evidently worried. He often paused before a gang to inquire how + they were “making it.” He seemed afraid they might wish to quit, which was + indeed the case, but he should never have taken before them any attitude + but that of absolute confidence in their intentions. His anxiety was + natural, however. He realized the absolute necessity of skidding and + hauling this job before the heavy choking snows of the latter part of + January should make it impossible to keep the roads open. So insistent was + this necessity that he had seized the first respite in the phenomenal + snow-fall of the early autumn to begin work. The cutting in the woods + could wait. + </p> + <p> + Left to themselves probably the men would never have dreamed of objecting + to whatever privations the task carried with it. Radway's anxiety for + their comfort, however, caused them finally to imagine that perhaps they + might have some just grounds for complaint after all. That is a great + trait of the lumber-jack. + </p> + <p> + But Dyer, the scaler, finally caused the outbreak. Dyer was an efficient + enough man in his way, but he loved his own ease. His habit was to stay in + his bunk of mornings until well after daylight. To this there could be no + objection—except on the part of the cook, who was supposed to attend + to his business himself—for the scaler was active in his work, when + once he began it, and could keep up with the skidding. But now he + displayed a strong antipathy to the north wind on the plains. Of course he + could not very well shirk the work entirely, but he did a good deal of + talking on the very cold mornings. + </p> + <p> + “I don't pose for no tough son-of-a-gun,” said he to Radway, “and I've got + some respect for my ears and feet. She'll warm up a little by to-morrow, + and perhaps the wind'll die. I can catch up on you fellows by hustling a + little, so I guess I'll stay in and work on the books to-day.” + </p> + <p> + “All right,” Radway assented, a little doubtfully. + </p> + <p> + This happened perhaps two days out of the week. Finally Dyer hung out a + thermometer, which he used to consult. The men saw it, and consulted it + too. At once they felt much colder. + </p> + <p> + “She was stan' ten below,” sputtered Baptiste Tellier, the Frenchman who + played the fiddle. “He freeze t'rou to hees eenside. Dat is too cole for + mak de work.” + </p> + <p> + “Them plains is sure a holy fright,” assented Purdy. + </p> + <p> + “Th' old man knows it himself,” agreed big Nolan; “did you see him rammin' + around yesterday askin' us if we found her too cold? He knows damn well he + ought not to keep a man out that sort o' weather.” + </p> + <p> + “You'd shiver like a dog in a briar path on a warm day in July,” said + Jackson Hines contemptuously. + </p> + <p> + “Shut up!” said they. “You're barn-boss. You don't have to be out in th' + cold.” + </p> + <p> + This was true. So Jackson's intervention went for a little worse than + nothing. + </p> + <p> + “It ain't lak' he has nuttin' besides,” went on Baptiste. “He can mak' de + cut in de meedle of de fores'.” + </p> + <p> + “That's right,” agreed Bob Stratton, “they's the west half of eight ain't + been cut yet.” + </p> + <p> + So they sent a delegation to Radway. Big Nolan was the spokesman. + </p> + <p> + “Boss,” said he bluntly, “she's too cold to work on them plains to-day. + She's the coldest day we had.” + </p> + <p> + Radway was too old a hand at the business to make any promises on the + spot. + </p> + <p> + “I'll see, boys,” said he. + </p> + <p> + When the breakfast was over the crew were set to making skidways and + travoy roads on eight. This was a precedent. In time the work on the + plains was grumblingly done in any weather. However, as to this Radway + proved firm enough. He was a good fighter when he knew he was being + imposed on. A man could never cheat or defy him openly without collecting + a little war that left him surprised at the jobber's belligerency. The + doubtful cases, those on the subtle line of indecision, found him weak. He + could be so easily persuaded that he was in the wrong. At times it even + seemed that he was anxious to be proved at fault, so eager was he to catch + fairly the justice of the other man's attitude. He held his men inexorably + and firmly to their work on the indisputably comfortable days; but gave in + often when an able-bodied woodsman should have seen in the weather no + inconvenience, even. As the days slipped by, however, he tightened the + reins. Christmas was approaching. An easy mathematical computation reduced + the question of completing his contract with Morrison & Daly to a + certain weekly quota. In fact he was surprised at the size of it. He would + have to work diligently and steadily during the rest of the winter. + </p> + <p> + Having thus a definite task to accomplish in a definite number of days, + Radway grew to be more of a taskmaster. His anxiety as to the completion + of the work overlaid his morbidly sympathetic human interest. Thus he + regained to a small degree the respect of his men. Then he lost it again. + </p> + <p> + One morning he came in from a talk with the supply-teamster, and woke + Dyer, who was not yet up. + </p> + <p> + “I'm going down home for two or three weeks,” he announced to Dyer, “you + know my address. You'll have to take charge, and I guess you'd better let + the scaling go. We can get the tally at the banking grounds when we begin + to haul. Now we ain't got all the time there is, so you want to keep the + boys at it pretty well.” + </p> + <p> + Dyer twisted the little points of his mustache. “All right, sir,” said he + with his smile so inscrutably insolent that Radway never saw the insolence + at all. He thought this a poor year for a man in Radway's position to + spend Christmas with his family, but it was none of his business. + </p> + <p> + “Do as much as you can in the marsh, Dyer,” went on the jobber. “I don't + believe it's really necessary to lay off any more there on account of the + weather. We've simply got to get that job in before the big snows.” + </p> + <p> + “All right, sir,” repeated Dyer. + </p> + <p> + The scaler did what he considered his duty. All day long he tramped back + and forth from one gang of men to the other, keeping a sharp eye on the + details of the work. His practical experience was sufficient to solve + readily such problems of broken tackle, extra expedients, or facility + which the days brought forth. The fact that in him was vested the power to + discharge kept the men at work. + </p> + <p> + Dyer was in the habit of starting for the marsh an hour or so after + sunrise. The crew, of course, were at work by daylight. Dyer heard them + often through his doze, just as he heard the chore-boy come in to build + the fire and fill the water pail afresh. After a time the fire, built of + kerosene and pitchy jack pine, would get so hot that in self-defense he + would arise and dress. Then he would breakfast leisurely. + </p> + <p> + Thus he incurred the enmity of the cook and cookee. Those individuals have + to prepare food three times a day for a half hundred heavy eaters; besides + which, on sleigh-haul, they are supposed to serve a breakfast at three + o'clock for the loaders and a variety of lunches up to midnight for the + sprinkler men. As a consequence, they resent infractions of the little + system they may have been able to introduce. + </p> + <p> + Now the business of a foreman is to be up as soon as anybody. He does none + of the work himself, but he must see that somebody else does it, and does + it well. For this he needs actual experience at the work itself, but above + all zeal and constant presence. He must know how a thing ought to be done, + and he must be on hand unexpectedly to see how its accomplishment is + progressing. Dyer should have been out of bed at first horn-blow. + </p> + <p> + One morning he slept until nearly ten o'clock. It was inexplicable! He + hurried from his bunk, made a hasty toilet, and started for the + dining-room to get some sort of a lunch to do him until dinner time. As he + stepped from the door of the office he caught sight of two men hurrying + from the cook camp to the men's camp. He thought he heard the hum of + conversation in the latter building. The cookee set hot coffee before him. + For the rest, he took what he could find cold on the table. + </p> + <p> + On an inverted cracker box the cook sat reading an old copy of the Police + Gazette. Various fifty-pound lard tins were bubbling and steaming on the + range. The cookee divided his time between them and the task of sticking + on the log walls pleasing patterns made of illustrations from cheap papers + and the gaudy labels of canned goods. Dyer sat down, feeling, for the + first time, a little guilty. This was not because of a sense of a + dereliction in duty, but because he feared the strong man's contempt for + inefficiency. + </p> + <p> + “I sort of pounded my ear a little long this morning,” he remarked with an + unwonted air of bonhomie. + </p> + <p> + The cook creased his paper with one hand and went on reading; the little + action indicating at the same time that he had heard, but intended to + vouchsafe no attention. The cookee continued his occupations. + </p> + <p> + “I suppose the men got out to the marsh on time,” suggested Dyer, still + easily. + </p> + <p> + The cook laid aside his paper and looked the scaler in the eye. + </p> + <p> + “You're the foreman; I'm the cook,” said he. “You ought to know.” + </p> + <p> + The cookee had paused, the paste brush in his hand. + </p> + <p> + Dyer was no weakling. The problem presenting, he rose to the emergency. + Without another word he pushed back his coffee cup and crossed the narrow + open passage to the men's camp + </p> + <p> + When he opened the door a silence fell. He could see dimly that the room + was full of lounging and smoking lumbermen. As a matter of fact, not a man + had stirred out that morning. This was more for the sake of giving Dyer a + lesson than of actually shirking the work, for a lumber-jack is honest in + giving his time when it is paid for. + </p> + <p> + “How's this, men!” cried Dyer sharply; “why aren't you out on the marsh?” + </p> + <p> + No one answered for a minute. Then Baptiste: + </p> + <p> + “He mak' too tam cole for de marsh. Meester Radway he spik dat we kip off + dat marsh w'en he mak' cole.” + </p> + <p> + Dyer knew that the precedent was indisputable. + </p> + <p> + “Why didn't you cut on eight then?” he asked, still in peremptory tones. + </p> + <p> + “Didn't have no one to show us where to begin,” drawled a voice in the + corner. + </p> + <p> + Dyer turned sharp on his heel and went out. + </p> + <p> + “Sore as a boil, ain't he!” commented old Jackson Hines with a chuckle. + </p> + <p> + In the cook camp Dyer was saying to the cook, “Well, anyway, we'll have + dinner early and get a good start for this afternoon.” + </p> + <p> + The cook again laid down his paper. “I'm tending to this job of cook,” + said he, “and I'm getting the meals on time. Dinner will be on time to-day + not a minute early, and not a minute late.” + </p> + <p> + Then he resumed his perusal of the adventures of ladies to whom the + illustrations accorded magnificent calf-development. + </p> + <p> + The crew worked on the marsh that afternoon, and the subsequent days of + the week. They labored conscientiously but not zealously. There is a deal + of difference, and the lumber-jack's unaided conscience is likely to allow + him a certain amount of conversation from the decks of skidways. The work + moved slowly. At Christmas a number of the men “went out.” Most of them + were back again after four or five days, for, while men were not plenty, + neither was work. The equilibrium was nearly exact. + </p> + <p> + But the convivial souls had lost to Dyer the days of their debauch, and + until their thirst for recuperative “Pain Killer,” “Hinckley” and Jamaica + Ginger was appeased, they were not much good. Instead of keeping up to + fifty thousand a day, as Radway had figured was necessary, the scale would + not have exceeded thirty. + </p> + <p> + Dyer saw all this plainly enough, but was not able to remedy it. That was + not entirely his fault. He did not dare give the delinquents their time, + for he would not have known where to fill their places. This lay in + Radway's experience. Dyer felt that responsibilities a little too great + had been forced on him, which was partly true. In a few days the young + man's facile conscience had covered all his shortcomings with the blanket + excuse. He conceived that he had a grievance against Radway! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter X + </h2> + <p> + Radway returned to camp by the 6th of January. He went on snowshoes over + the entire job; and then sat silently in the office smoking “Peerless” in + his battered old pipe. Dyer watched him amusedly, secure in his grievance + in case blame should be attached to him. The jobber looked older. The + lines of dry good-humor about his eyes had subtly changed to an expression + of pathetic anxiety. He attached no blame to anybody, but rose the next + morning at horn-blow, and the men found they had a new master over them. + </p> + <p> + And now the struggle with the wilderness came to grapples. Radway was as + one possessed by a burning fever. He seemed everywhere at once, always + helping with his own shoulder and arm, hurrying eagerly. For once luck + seemed with him. The marsh was cut over; the “eighty” on section eight was + skidded without a break. The weather held cold and clear. + </p> + <p> + Now it became necessary to put the roads in shape for hauling. All winter + the blacksmith, between his tasks of shoeing and mending, had occupied his + time in fitting the iron-work on eight log-sleighs which the carpenter had + hewed from solid sticks of timber. They were tremendous affairs, these + sleighs, with runners six feet apart, and bunks nine feet in width for the + reception of logs. The bunks were so connected by two loosely-coupled rods + that, when emptied, they could be swung parallel with the road, so + reducing the width of the sleigh. The carpenter had also built two immense + tanks on runners, holding each some seventy barrels of water, and with + holes so arranged in the bottom and rear that on the withdrawal of plugs + the water would flood the entire width of the road. These sprinklers were + filled by horse power. A chain, running through blocks attached to a solid + upper framework, like the open belfry of an Italian monastery, dragged a + barrel up a wooden track from the water hole to the opening in the + sprinkler. When in action this formidable machine weighed nearly two tons + and resembled a moving house. Other men had felled two big hemlocks, from + which they had hewed beams for a V plow. + </p> + <p> + The V plow was now put in action. Six horses drew it down the road, each + pair superintended by a driver. The machine was weighted down by a number + of logs laid across the arms. Men guided it by levers, and by throwing + their weight against the fans of the plow. It was a gay, animated scene + this, full of the spirit of winter—the plodding, straining horses, + the brilliantly dressed, struggling men, the sullen-yielding snow thrown + to either side, the shouts, warnings, and commands. To right and left grew + white banks of snow. Behind stretched a broad white path in which a scant + inch hid the bare earth. + </p> + <p> + For some distance the way led along comparatively high ground. Then, + skirting the edge of a lake, it plunged into a deep creek bottom between + hills. Here, earlier in the year, eleven bridges had been constructed, + each a labor of accuracy; and perhaps as many swampy places had been + “corduroyed” by carpeting them with long parallel poles. Now the first + difficulty began. + </p> + <p> + Some of the bridges had sunk below the level, and the approaches had to be + corduroyed to a practicable grade. Others again were humped up like + tom-cats, and had to be pulled apart entirely. In spots the “corduroy” had + spread, so that the horses thrust their hoofs far down into leg-breaking + holes. The experienced animals were never caught, however. As soon as they + felt the ground giving way beneath one foot, they threw their weight on + the other. + </p> + <p> + Still, that sort of thing was to be expected. A gang of men who followed + the plow carried axes and cant-hooks for the purpose of repairing + extemporaneously just such defects, which never would have been discovered + otherwise than by the practical experience. Radway himself accompanied the + plow. Thorpe, who went along as one of the “road monkeys,” saw now why + such care had been required of him in smoothing the way of stubs, knots, + and hummocks. + </p> + <p> + Down the creek an accident occurred on this account. The plow had + encountered a drift. Three times the horses had plunged at it, and three + times had been brought to a stand, not so much by the drag of the V plow + as by the wallowing they themselves had to do in the drift. + </p> + <p> + “No use, break her through, boys,” said Radway. So a dozen men hurled + their bodies through, making an opening for the horses. + </p> + <p> + “Hi! YUP!” shouted the three teamsters, gathering up their reins. + </p> + <p> + The horses put their heads down and plunged. The whole apparatus moved + with a rush, men clinging, animals digging their hoofs in, snow flying. + Suddenly there came a check, then a CRACK, and then the plow shot forward + so suddenly and easily that the horses all but fell on their noses. The + flanging arms of the V, forced in a place too narrow, had caught between + heavy stubs. One of the arms had broken square off. + </p> + <p> + There was nothing for it but to fell another hemlock and hew out another + beam, which meant a day lost. Radway occupied his men with shovels in + clearing the edge of the road, and started one of his sprinklers over the + place already cleared. Water holes of suitable size had been blown in the + creek bank by dynamite. There the machines were filled. It was a slow + process. Stratton attached his horse to the chain and drove him back and + forth, hauling the barrel up and down the slideway. At the bottom it was + capsized and filled by means of a long pole shackled to its bottom and + manipulated by old man Heath. At the top it turned over by its own weight. + Thus seventy odd times. + </p> + <p> + Then Fred Green hitched his team on and the four horses drew the creaking, + cumbrous vehicle spouting down the road. Water gushed in fans from the + openings on either side and beneath; and in streams from two holes behind. + Not for an instant as long as the flow continued dared the teamsters + breathe their horses, for a pause would freeze the runners tight to the + ground. A tongue at either end obviated the necessity of turning around. + </p> + <p> + While the other men hewed at the required beam for the broken V plow, + Heath, Stratton, and Green went over the cleared road-length once. To do + so required three sprinklerfuls. When the road should be quite free, and + both sprinklers running, they would have to keep at it until after + midnight. + </p> + <p> + And then silently the wilderness stretched forth her hand and pushed these + struggling atoms back to their place. + </p> + <p> + That night it turned warmer. The change was heralded by a shift of wind. + Then some blue jays appeared from nowhere and began to scream at their + more silent brothers, the whisky jacks. + </p> + <p> + “She's goin' to rain,” said old Jackson. “The air is kind o' holler.” + </p> + <p> + “Hollow?” said Thorpe, laughing. “How is that?” + </p> + <p> + “I don' no,” confessed Hines, “but she is. She jest feels that way.” + </p> + <p> + In the morning the icicles dripped from the roof, and although the snow + did not appreciably melt, it shrank into itself and became pock-marked on + the surface. + </p> + <p> + Radway was down looking at the road. + </p> + <p> + “She's holdin' her own,” said he, “but there ain't any use putting more + water on her. She ain't freezing a mite. We'll plow her out.” + </p> + <p> + So they finished the job, and plowed her out, leaving exposed the wet, + marshy surface of the creek-bottom, on which at night a thin crust formed. + Across the marsh the old tramped road held up the horses, and the plow + swept clear a little wider swath. + </p> + <p> + “She'll freeze a little to-night,” said Radway hopefully. “You sprinkler + boys get at her and wet her down.” + </p> + <p> + Until two o'clock in the morning the four teams and the six men creaked + back and forth spilling hardly-gathered water—weird, unearthly, in + the flickering light of their torches. Then they crept in and ate sleepily + the food that a sleepy cookee set out for them. + </p> + <p> + By morning the mere surface of this sprinkled water had frozen, the + remainder beneath had drained away, and so Radway found in his road + considerable patches of shell ice, useless, crumbling. He looked in + despair at the sky. Dimly through the gray he caught the tint of blue. + </p> + <p> + The sun came out. Nut-hatches and wood-peckers ran gayly up the warming + trunks of the trees. Blue jays fluffed and perked and screamed in the + hard-wood tops. A covey of grouse ventured from the swamp and strutted + vainly, a pause of contemplation between each step. Radway, walking out on + the tramped road of the marsh, cracked the artificial skin and thrust his + foot through into icy water. That night the sprinklers stayed in. + </p> + <p> + The devil seemed in it. If the thaw would only cease before the ice bottom + so laboriously constructed was destroyed! Radway vibrated between the + office and the road. Men were lying idle; teams were doing the same. + Nothing went on but the days of the year; and four of them had already + ticked off the calendar. The deep snow of the unusually cold autumn had + now disappeared from the tops of the stumps. Down in the swamp the covey + of partridges were beginning to hope that in a few days more they might + discover a bare spot in the burnings. It even stopped freezing during the + night. At times Dyer's little thermometer marked as high as forty degrees. + </p> + <p> + “I often heard this was a sort 'v summer resort,” observed Tom Broadhead, + “but danged if I knew it was a summer resort all the year 'round.” + </p> + <p> + The weather got to be the only topic of conversation. Each had his say, + his prediction. It became maddening. Towards evening the chill of melting + snow would deceive many into the belief that a cold snap was beginning. + </p> + <p> + “She'll freeze before morning, sure,” was the hopeful comment. + </p> + <p> + And then in the morning the air would be more balmily insulting than ever. + </p> + <p> + “Old man is as blue as a whetstone,” commented Jackson Hines, “an' I don't + blame him. This weather'd make a man mad enough to eat the devil with his + horns left on.” + </p> + <p> + By and by it got to be a case of looking on the bright side of the affair + from pure reaction. + </p> + <p> + “I don't know,” said Radway, “it won't be so bad after all. A couple of + days of zero weather, with all this water lying around, would fix things + up in pretty good shape. If she only freezes tight, we'll have a good + solid bottom to build on, and that'll be quite a good rig out there on the + marsh.” + </p> + <p> + The inscrutable goddess of the wilderness smiled, and calmly, + relentlessly, moved her next pawn. + </p> + <p> + It was all so unutterably simple, and yet so effective. Something there + was in it of the calm inevitability of fate. It snowed. + </p> + <p> + All night and all day the great flakes zig-zagged softly down through the + air. Radway plowed away two feet of it. The surface was promptly covered + by a second storm. Radway doggedly plowed it out again. + </p> + <p> + This time the goddess seemed to relent. The ground froze solid. The + sprinklers became assiduous in their labor. Two days later the road was + ready for the first sleigh, its surface of thick, glassy ice, beautiful to + behold; the ruts cut deep and true; the grades sanded, or sprinkled with + retarding hay on the descents. At the river the banking ground proved + solid. Radway breathed again, then sighed. Spring was eight days nearer. + He was eight days more behind. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XI + </h2> + <p> + As soon as loading began, the cook served breakfast at three o'clock. The + men worked by the light of torches, which were often merely catsup jugs + with wicking in the necks. Nothing could be more picturesque than a + teamster conducting one of his great pyramidical loads over the little + inequalities of the road, in the ticklish places standing atop with the + bent knee of the Roman charioteer, spying and forestalling the chances of + the way with a fixed eye and an intense concentration that relaxed not one + inch in the miles of the haul. Thorpe had become a full-fledged cant-hook + man. + </p> + <p> + He liked the work. There is about it a skill that fascinates. A man grips + suddenly with the hook of his strong instrument, stopping one end that the + other may slide; he thrusts the short, strong stock between the log and + the skid, allowing it to be overrun; he stops the roll with a sudden sure + grasp applied at just the right moment to be effective. Sometimes he + allows himself to be carried up bodily, clinging to the cant-hook like an + acrobat to a bar, until the log has rolled once; when, his weapon + loosened, he drops lightly, easily to the ground. And it is exciting to + pile the logs on the sleigh, first a layer of five, say; then one of six + smaller; of but three; of two; until, at the very apex, the last is + dragged slowly up the skids, poised, and, just as it is about to plunge + down the other side, is gripped and held inexorably by the little men in + blue flannel shirts. + </p> + <p> + Chains bind the loads. And if ever, during the loading, or afterwards when + the sleigh is in motion, the weight of the logs causes the pyramid to + break down and squash out;—then woe to the driver, or whoever + happens to be near! A saw log does not make a great deal of fuss while + falling, but it falls through anything that happens in its way, and a man + who gets mixed up in a load of twenty-five or thirty of them obeying the + laws of gravitation from a height of some fifteen to twenty feet, can be + crushed into strange shapes and fragments. For this reason the loaders are + picked and careful men. + </p> + <p> + At the banking grounds, which lie in and about the bed of the river, the + logs are piled in a gigantic skidway to await the spring freshets, which + will carry them down stream to the “boom.” In that enclosure they remain + until sawed in the mill. + </p> + <p> + Such is the drama of the saw log, a story of grit, resourcefulness, + adaptability, fortitude and ingenuity hard to match. Conditions never + repeat themselves in the woods as they do in the factory. The wilderness + offers ever new complications to solve, difficulties to overcome. A man + must think of everything, figure on everything, from the grand sweep of + the country at large to the pressure on a king-bolt. And where another + possesses the boundless resources of a great city, he has to rely on the + material stored in one corner of a shed. It is easy to build a palace with + men and tools; it is difficult to build a log cabin with nothing but an + ax. His wits must help him where his experience fails; and his experience + must push him mechanically along the track of habit when successive + buffetings have beaten his wits out of his head. In a day he must + construct elaborate engines, roads, and implements which old civilization + considers the works of leisure. Without a thought of expense he must + abandon as temporary, property which other industries cry out at being + compelled to acquire as permanent. For this reason he becomes in time + different from his fellows. The wilderness leaves something of her mystery + in his eyes, that mystery of hidden, unknown but guessed, power. Men look + after him on the street, as they would look after any other pioneer, in + vague admiration of a scope more virile than their own. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe, in common with the other men, had thought Radway's vacation at + Christmas time a mistake. He could not but admire the feverish animation + that now characterized the jobber. Every mischance was as quickly repaired + as aroused expedient could do the work. + </p> + <p> + The marsh received first attention. There the restless snow drifted + uneasily before the wind. Nearly every day the road had to be plowed, and + the sprinklers followed the teams almost constantly. Often it was bitter + cold, but no one dared to suggest to the determined jobber that it might + be better to remain indoors. The men knew as well as he that the heavy + February snows would block traffic beyond hope of extrication. + </p> + <p> + As it was, several times an especially heavy fall clogged the way. The + snow-plow, even with extra teams, could hardly force its path through. Men + with shovels helped. Often but a few loads a day, and they small, could be + forced to the banks by the utmost exertions of the entire crew. Esprit de + corps awoke. The men sprang to their tasks with alacrity, gave more than + an hour's exertion to each of the twenty-four, took a pride in repulsing + the assaults of the great enemy, whom they personified under the generic + “She.” Mike McGovern raked up a saint somewhere whom he apostrophized in a + personal and familiar manner. + </p> + <p> + He hit his head against an overhanging branch. + </p> + <p> + “You're a nice wan, now ain't ye?” he cried angrily at the unfortunate + guardian of his soul. “Dom if Oi don't quit ye! Ye see!” + </p> + <p> + “Be the gate of Hivin!” he shouted, when he opened the door of mornings + and discovered another six inches of snow, “Ye're a burrd! If Oi couldn't + make out to be more of a saint than that, Oi'd quit the biznis! Move yor + pull, an' get us some dacint weather! Ye awt t' be road monkeyin' on th' + golden streets, thot's what ye awt to be doin'!” + </p> + <p> + Jackson Hines was righteously indignant, but with the shrewdness of the + old man, put the blame partly where it belonged. + </p> + <p> + “I ain't sayin',” he observed judicially, “that this weather ain't hell. + It's hell and repeat. But a man sort've got to expec' weather. He looks + for it, and he oughta be ready for it. The trouble is we got behind + Christmas. It's that Dyer. He's about as mean as they make 'em. The only + reason he didn't die long ago is becuz th' Devil's thought him too mean to + pay any 'tention to. If ever he should die an' go to Heaven he'd pry up + th' golden streets an' use the infernal pit for a smelter.” + </p> + <p> + With this magnificent bit of invective, Jackson seized a lantern and + stumped out to see that the teamsters fed their horses properly. + </p> + <p> + “Didn't know you were a miner, Jackson,” called Thorpe, laughing. + </p> + <p> + “Young feller,” replied Jackson at the door, “it's a lot easier to tell + what I AIN'T been.” + </p> + <p> + So floundering, battling, making a little progress every day, the strife + continued. + </p> + <p> + One morning in February, Thorpe was helping load a big butt log. He was + engaged in “sending up”; that is, he was one of the two men who stand at + either side of the skids to help the ascending log keep straight and true + to its bed on the pile. His assistant's end caught on a sliver, ground for + a second, and slipped back. Thus the log ran slanting across the skids + instead of perpendicular to them. To rectify the fault, Thorpe dug his + cant-hook into the timber and threw his weight on the stock. He hoped in + this manner to check correspondingly the ascent of his end. In other + words, he took the place, on his side, of the preventing sliver, so + equalizing the pressure and forcing the timber to its proper position. + Instead of rolling, the log slid. The stock of the cant-hook was jerked + from his hands. He fell back, and the cant-hook, after clinging for a + moment to the rough bark, snapped down and hit him a crushing blow on the + top of the head. + </p> + <p> + Had a less experienced man than Jim Gladys been stationed at the other + end, Thorpe's life would have ended there. A shout of surprise or horror + would have stopped the horse pulling on the decking chain; the heavy stick + would have slid back on the prostrate young man, who would have thereupon + been ground to atoms as he lay. With the utmost coolness Gladys swarmed + the slanting face of the load; interposed the length of his cant-hook + stock between the log and it; held it exactly long enough to straighten + the timber, but not so long as to crush his own head and arm; and ducked, + just as the great piece of wood rumbled over the end of the skids and + dropped with a thud into the place Norton, the “top” man, had prepared for + it. + </p> + <p> + It was a fine deed, quickly thought, quickly dared. No one saw it. Jim + Gladys was a hero, but a hero without an audience. + </p> + <p> + They took Thorpe up and carried him in, just as they had carried Hank Paul + before. Men who had not spoken a dozen words to him in as many days + gathered his few belongings and stuffed them awkwardly into his satchel. + Jackson Hines prepared the bed of straw and warm blankets in the bottom of + the sleigh that was to take him out. + </p> + <p> + “He would have made a good boss,” said the old fellow. “He's a hard man to + nick.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe was carried in from the front, and the battle went on without him. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XII + </h2> + <p> + Thorpe never knew how carefully he was carried to camp, nor how tenderly + the tote teamster drove his hay-couched burden to Beeson Lake. He had no + consciousness of the jolting train, in the baggage car of which Jimmy, the + little brakeman, and Bud, and the baggage man spread blankets, and + altogether put themselves to a great deal of trouble. When finally he came + to himself, he was in a long, bright, clean room, and the sunset was + throwing splashes of light on the ceiling over his head. + </p> + <p> + He watched them idly for a time; then turned on his pillow. At once he + perceived a long, double row of clean white-painted iron beds, on which + lay or sat figures of men. Other figures, of women, glided here and there + noiselessly. They wore long, spreading dove-gray clothes, with a starched + white kerchief drawn over the shoulders and across the breast. Their heads + were quaintly white-garbed in stiff winglike coifs, fitting close about + the oval of the face. Then Thorpe sighed comfortably, and closed his eyes + and blessed the chance that he had bought a hospital ticket of the agent + who had visited camp the month before. For these were Sisters, and the + young man lay in the Hospital of St. Mary. + </p> + <p> + Time was when the lumber-jack who had the misfortune to fall sick or to + meet with an accident was in a sorry plight indeed. If he possessed a + “stake,” he would receive some sort of unskilled attention in one of the + numerous and fearful lumberman's boarding-houses,—just so long as + his money lasted, not one instant more. Then he was bundled brutally into + the street, no matter what his condition might be. Penniless, without + friends, sick, he drifted naturally to the county poorhouse. There he was + patched up quickly and sent out half-cured. The authorities were not so + much to blame. With the slender appropriations at their disposal, they + found difficulty in taking care of those who came legitimately under their + jurisdiction. It was hardly to be expected that they would welcome with + open arms a vast army of crippled and diseased men temporarily from the + woods. The poor lumber-jack was often left broken in mind and body from + causes which a little intelligent care would have rendered unimportant. + </p> + <p> + With the establishment of the first St. Mary's hospital, I think at Bay + City, all this was changed. Now, in it and a half dozen others conducted + on the same principles, the woodsman receives the best of medicines, + nursing, and medical attendance. From one of the numerous agents who + periodically visit the camps, he purchases for eight dollars a ticket + which admits him at any time during the year to the hospital, where he is + privileged to remain free of further charge until convalescent. So + valuable are these institutions, and so excellently are they maintained by + the Sisters, that a hospital agent is always welcome, even in those camps + from which ordinary peddlers and insurance men are rigidly excluded. Like + a great many other charities built on a common-sense self-supporting + rational basis, the woods hospitals are under the Roman Catholic Church. + </p> + <p> + In one of these hospitals Thorpe lay for six weeks suffering from a severe + concussion of the brain. At the end of the fourth, his fever had broken, + but he was pronounced as yet too weak to be moved. + </p> + <p> + His nurse was a red-cheeked, blue-eyed, homely little Irish girl, brimming + with motherly good-humor. When Thorpe found strength to talk, the two + became friends. Through her influence he was moved to a bed about ten feet + from the window. Thence his privileges were three roofs and a glimpse of + the distant river. + </p> + <p> + The roofs were covered with snow. One day Thorpe saw it sink into itself + and gradually run away. The tinkle tinkle tank tank of drops sounded from + his own eaves. Down the far-off river, sluggish reaches of ice drifted. + Then in a night the blue disappeared from the stream. It became a menacing + gray, and even from his distance Thorpe could catch the swirl of its + rising waters. A day or two later dark masses drifted or shot across the + field of his vision, and twice he thought he distinguished men standing + upright and bold on single logs as they rushed down the current. + </p> + <p> + “What is the date?” he asked of the Sister. + </p> + <p> + “The eleventh of March.” + </p> + <p> + “Isn't it early for the thaw?” + </p> + <p> + “Listen to 'im!” exclaimed the Sister delightedly. “Early is it! Sure th' + freshet co't thim all. Look, darlint, ye kin see th' drive from here.” + </p> + <p> + “I see,” said Thorpe wearily, “when can I get out?” + </p> + <p> + “Not for wan week,” replied the Sister decidedly. + </p> + <p> + At the end of the week Thorpe said good-by to his attendant, who appeared + as sorry to see him go as though the same partings did not come to her a + dozen times a year; he took two days of tramping the little town to regain + the use of his legs, and boarded the morning train for Beeson Lake. He did + not pause in the village, but bent his steps to the river trail. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XIII + </h2> + <p> + Thorpe found the woods very different from when he had first traversed + them. They were full of patches of wet earth and of sunshine; of dark + pine, looking suddenly worn, and of fresh green shoots of needles, looking + deliciously springlike. This was the contrast everywhere—stern, + earnest, purposeful winter, and gay, laughing, careless spring. It was + impossible not to draw in fresh spirits with every step. + </p> + <p> + He followed the trail by the river. Butterballs and scoters paddled up at + his approach. Bits of rotten ice occasionally swirled down the diminishing + stream. The sunshine was clear and bright, but silvery rather than golden, + as though a little of the winter's snow,—a last ethereal + incarnation,—had lingered in its substance. Around every bend Thorpe + looked for some of Radway's crew “driving” the logs down the current. He + knew from chance encounters with several of the men in Bay City that + Radway was still in camp; which meant, of course, that the last of the + season's operations were not yet finished. Five miles further Thorpe began + to wonder whether this last conclusion might not be erroneous. The Cass + Branch had shrunken almost to its original limits. Only here and there a + little bayou or marsh attested recent freshets. The drive must have been + finished, even this early, for the stream in its present condition would + hardly float saw logs, certainly not in quantity. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe, puzzled, walked on. At the banking ground he found empty skids. + Evidently the drive was over. And yet even to Thorpe's ignorance, it + seemed incredible that the remaining million and a half of logs had been + hauled, banked and driven during the short time he had lain in the Bay + City hospital. More to solve the problem than in any hope of work, he set + out up the logging road. + </p> + <p> + Another three miles brought him to camp. It looked strangely wet and + sodden and deserted. In fact, Thorpe found a bare half dozen people in it,—Radway, + the cook, and four men who were helping to pack up the movables, and who + later would drive out the wagons containing them. The jobber showed strong + traces of the strain he had undergone, but greeted Thorpe almost jovially. + He seemed able to show more of his real nature now that the necessity of + authority had been definitely removed. + </p> + <p> + “Hullo, young man,” he shouted at Thorpe's mud-splashed figure, “come back + to view, the remains? All well again, heigh? That's good!” + </p> + <p> + He strode down to grip the young fellow heartily by the hand. It was + impossible not to be charmed by the sincere cordiality of his manner. + </p> + <p> + “I didn't know you were through,” explained Thorpe, “I came to see if I + could get a job.” + </p> + <p> + “Well now I AM sorry!” cried Radway, “you can turn in and help though, if + you want to.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe greeted the cook and old Jackson Hines, the only two whom he knew, + and set to work to tie up bundles of blankets, and to collect axes, + peavies, and tools of all descriptions. This was evidently the last + wagon-trip, for little remained to be done. + </p> + <p> + “I ought by rights to take the lumber of the roofs and floors,” observed + Radway thoughtfully, “but I guess she don't matter.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe had never seen him in better spirits. He ascribed the older man's + hilarity to relief over the completion of a difficult task. That evening + the seven dined together at one end of the long table. The big room + exhaled already the atmosphere of desertion. + </p> + <p> + “Not much like old times, is she?” laughed Radway. “Can't you just shut + your eyes and hear Baptiste say, 'Mak' heem de soup one tam more for me'? + She's pretty empty now.” + </p> + <p> + Jackson Hines looked whimsically down the bare board. “More room than God + made for geese in Ireland,” was his comment. + </p> + <p> + After supper they even sat outside for a little time to smoke their pipes, + chair-tilted against the logs of the cabins, but soon the chill of melting + snow drove them indoors. The four teamsters played seven-up in the cook + camp by the light of a barn lantern, while Thorpe and the cook wrote + letters. Thorpe's was to his sister. + </p> + <p> + “I have been in the hospital for about a month,” he wrote. “Nothing + serious—a crack on the head, which is all right now. But I cannot + get home this summer, nor, I am afraid, can we arrange about the school + this year. I am about seventy dollars ahead of where I was last fall, so + you see it is slow business. This summer I am going into a mill, but the + wages for green labor are not very high there either,” and so on. + </p> + <p> + When Miss Helen Thorpe, aged seventeen, received this document she stamped + her foot almost angrily. “You'd think he was a day-laborer!” she cried. + “Why doesn't he try for a clerkship or something in the city where he'd + have a chance to use his brains!” + </p> + <p> + The thought of her big, strong, tanned brother chained to a desk rose to + her, and she smiled a little sadly. + </p> + <p> + “I know,” she went on to herself, “he'd rather be a common laborer in the + woods than railroad manager in the office. He loves his out-of-doors.” + </p> + <p> + “Helen!” called a voice from below, “if you're through up there, I wish + you'd come down and help me carry this rug out.” + </p> + <p> + The girl's eyes cleared with a snap. + </p> + <p> + “So do I!” she cried defiantly, “so do I love out-of-doors! I like the + woods and the fields and the trees just as much as he does, only + differently; but I don't get out!” + </p> + <p> + And thus she came to feeling rebelliously that her brother had been a + little selfish in his choice of an occupation, that he sacrificed her + inclinations to his own. She did not guess,—how could she?—his + dreams for her. She did not see the future through his thoughts, but + through his words. A negative hopelessness settled down on her, which soon + her strong spirit, worthy counterpart of her brother's, changed to more + positive rebellion. Thorpe had aroused antagonism where he craved only + love. The knowledge of that fact would have surprised and hurt him, for he + was entirely without suspicion of it. He lived subjectively to so great a + degree that his thoughts and aims took on a certain tangible objectivity,—they + became so real to him that he quite overlooked the necessity of + communication to make them as real to others. He assumed unquestioningly + that the other must know. So entirely had he thrown himself into his + ambition of making a suitable position for Helen, so continually had he + dwelt on it in his thoughts, so earnestly had he striven for it in every + step of the great game he was beginning to play, that it never occurred to + him he should also concede a definite outward manifestation of his feeling + in order to assure its acceptance. Thorpe believed that he had sacrificed + every thought and effort to his sister. Helen was becoming convinced that + he had considered only himself. + </p> + <p> + After finishing the letter which gave occasion to this train of thought, + Thorpe lit his pipe and strolled out into the darkness. Opposite the + little office he stopped amazed. + </p> + <p> + Through the narrow window he could see Radway seated in front of the + stove. Every attitude of the man denoted the most profound dejection. He + had sunk down into his chair until he rested on almost the small of his + back, his legs were struck straight out in front of him, his chin rested + on his breast, and his two arms hung listless at his side, a pipe half + falling from the fingers of one hand. All the facetious lines had turned + to pathos. In his face sorrowed the anxious, questing, wistful look of the + St. Bernard that does not understand. + </p> + <p> + “What's the matter with the boss, anyway?” asked Thorpe in a low voice of + Jackson Hines, when the seven-up game was finished. + </p> + <p> + “H'aint ye heard?” inquired the old man in surprise. + </p> + <p> + “Why, no. What?” + </p> + <p> + “Busted,” said the old man sententiously. + </p> + <p> + “How? What do you mean?” + </p> + <p> + “What I say. He's busted. That freshet caught him too quick. They's more'n + a million and a half logs left in the woods that can't be got out this + year, and as his contract calls for a finished job, he don't get nothin' + for what he's done.” + </p> + <p> + “That's a queer rig,” commented Thorpe. “He's done a lot of valuable work + here,—the timber's cut and skidded, anyway; and he's delivered a + good deal of it to the main drive. The M. & D. outfit get all the + advantage of that.” + </p> + <p> + “They do, my son. When old Daly's hand gets near anything, it cramps. I + don't know how the old man come to make such a contrac', but he did. + Result is, he's out his expenses and time.” + </p> + <p> + To understand exactly the catastrophe that had occurred, it is necessary + to follow briefly an outline of the process after the logs have been piled + on the banks. There they remain until the break-up attendant on spring + shall flood the stream to a freshet. The rollways are then broken, and the + saw logs floated down the river to the mill where they are to be cut into + lumber. + </p> + <p> + If for any reason this transportation by water is delayed until the flood + goes down, the logs are stranded or left in pools. Consequently every + logger puts into the two or three weeks of freshet water a feverish + activity which shall carry his product through before the ebb. + </p> + <p> + The exceptionally early break-up of this spring, combined with the fact + that, owing to the series of incidents and accidents already sketched, the + actual cutting and skidding had fallen so far behind, caught Radway + unawares. He saw his rollways breaking out while his teams were still + hauling in the woods. In order to deliver to the mouth of the Cass Branch + the three million already banked, he was forced to drop everything else + and attend strictly to the drive. This left still, as has been stated, a + million and a half on skidways, which Radway knew he would be unable to + get out that year. + </p> + <p> + In spite of the jobber's certainty that his claim was thus annulled, and + that he might as well abandon the enterprise entirely for all he would + ever get out of it, he finished the “drive” conscientiously and saved to + the Company the logs already banked. Then he had interviewed Daly. The + latter refused to pay him one cent. Nothing remained but to break camp and + grin as best he might over the loss of his winter's work and expenses. + </p> + <p> + The next day Radway and Thorpe walked the ten miles of the river trail + together, while the teamsters and the cook drove down the five teams. + Under the influence of the solitude and a certain sympathy which Thorpe + manifested, Radway talked—a very little. + </p> + <p> + “I got behind; that's all there is to it,” he said. “I s'pose I ought to + have driven the men a little; but still, I don't know. It gets pretty cold + on the plains. I guess I bit off more than I could chew.” + </p> + <p> + His eye followed listlessly a frenzied squirrel swinging from the tops of + poplars. + </p> + <p> + “I wouldn't 'a done it for myself,” he went on. “I don't like the + confounded responsibility. They's too much worry connected with it all. I + had a good snug little stake—mighty nigh six thousand. She's all + gone now. That'd have been enough for me—I ain't a drinkin' man. But + then there was the woman and the kid. This ain't no country for + woman-folks, and I wanted t' take little Lida out o' here. I had lots of + experience in the woods, and I've seen men make big money time and again, + who didn't know as much about it as I do. But they got there, somehow. + Says I, I'll make a stake this year—I'd a had twelve thousand in th' + bank, if things'd have gone right—and then we'll jest move down + around Detroit an' I'll put Lida in school.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe noticed a break in the man's voice, and glancing suddenly toward + him was astounded to catch his eyes brimming with tears. Radway perceived + the surprise. + </p> + <p> + “You know when I left Christmas?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “I was gone two weeks, and them two weeks done me. We was going slow + enough before, God knows, but even with the rank weather and all, I think + we'd have won out, if we could have held the same gait.” + </p> + <p> + Radway paused. Thorpe was silent. + </p> + <p> + “The boys thought it was a mighty poor rig, my leaving that way.” + </p> + <p> + He paused again in evident expectation of a reply. Again Thorpe was + silent. + </p> + <p> + “Didn't they?” Radway insisted. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, they did,” answered Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + The older man sighed. “I thought so,” he went on. “Well, I didn't go to + spend Christmas. I went because Jimmy brought me a telegram that Lida was + sick with diphtheria. I sat up nights with her for 'leven days.” + </p> + <p> + “No bad after-effects, I hope?” inquired Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “She died,” said Radway simply. + </p> + <p> + The two men tramped stolidly on. This was too great an affair for Thorpe + to approach except on the knees of his spirit. After a long interval, + during which the waters had time to still, the young man changed the + subject. + </p> + <p> + “Aren't you going to get anything out of M. & D.?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “No. Didn't earn nothing. I left a lot of their saw logs hung up in the + woods, where they'll deteriorate from rot and worms. This is their last + season in this district.” + </p> + <p> + “Got anything left?” + </p> + <p> + “Not a cent.” + </p> + <p> + “What are you going to do?” + </p> + <p> + “Do!” cried the old woodsman, the fire springing to his eye. “Do! I'm + going into the woods, by God! I'm going to work with my hands, and be + happy! I'm going to do other men's work for them and take other men's pay. + Let them do the figuring and worrying. I'll boss their gangs and make + their roads and see to their logging for 'em, but it's got to be THEIRS. + No! I'm going to be a free man by the G. jumping Moses!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XIV + </h2> + <p> + Thorpe dedicated a musing instant to the incongruity of rejoicing over a + freedom gained by ceasing to be master and becoming servant. + </p> + <p> + “Radway,” said he suddenly, “I need money and I need it bad. I think you + ought to get something out of this job of the M. & D.—not much, + but something. Will you give me a share of what I can collect from them?” + </p> + <p> + “Sure!” agreed the jobber readily, with a laugh. “Sure! But you won't get + anything. I'll give you ten per cent quick.” + </p> + <p> + “Good enough!” cried Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “But don't be too sure you'll earn day wages doing it,” warned the other. + “I saw Daly when I was down here last week.” + </p> + <p> + “My time's not valuable,” replied Thorpe. “Now when we get to town I want + your power of attorney and a few figures, after which I will not bother + you again.” + </p> + <p> + The next day the young man called for the second time at the little + red-painted office under the shadow of the mill, and for the second time + stood before the bulky power of the junior member of the firm. + </p> + <p> + “Well, young man, what can I do for you?” asked the latter. + </p> + <p> + “I have been informed,” said Thorpe without preliminary, “that you intend + to pay John Radway nothing for the work done on the Cass Branch this + winter. Is that true?” + </p> + <p> + Daly studied his antagonist meditatively. “If it is true, what is it to + you?” he asked at length. + </p> + <p> + “I am acting in Mr. Radway's interest.” + </p> + <p> + “You are one of Radway's men?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “In what capacity have you been working for him?” + </p> + <p> + “Cant-hook man,” replied Thorpe briefly. + </p> + <p> + “I see,” said Daly slowly. Then suddenly, with an intensity of energy that + startled Thorpe, he cried: “Now you get out of here! Right off! Quick!” + </p> + <p> + The younger man recognized the compelling and autocratic boss addressing a + member of the crew. + </p> + <p> + “I shall do nothing of the kind!” he replied with a flash of fire. + </p> + <p> + The mill-owner leaped to his feet every inch a leader of men. Thorpe did + not wish to bring about an actual scene of violence. He had attained his + object, which was to fluster the other out of his judicial calm. + </p> + <p> + “I have Radway's power of attorney,” he added. + </p> + <p> + Daly sat down, controlled himself with an effort, and growled out, “Why + didn't you say so?” + </p> + <p> + “Now I would like to know your position,” went on Thorpe. “I am not here + to make trouble, but as an associate of Mr. Radway, I have a right to + understand the case. Of course I have his side of the story,” he + suggested, as though convinced that a detailing of the other side might + change his views. + </p> + <p> + Daly considered carefully, fixing his flint-blue eyes unswervingly on + Thorpe's face. Evidently his scrutiny advised him that the young man was a + force to be reckoned with. + </p> + <p> + “It's like this,” said he abruptly, “we contracted last fall with this man + Radway to put in five million feet of our timber, delivered to the main + drive at the mouth of the Cass Branch. In this he was to act independently + except as to the matter of provisions. Those he drew from our van, and was + debited with the amount of the same. Is that clear?” + </p> + <p> + “Perfectly,” replied Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “In return we were to pay him, merchantable scale, four dollars a + thousand. If, however, he failed to put in the whole job, the contract was + void.” + </p> + <p> + “That's how I understand it,” commented Thorpe. “Well?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, he didn't get in the five million. There's a million and a half + hung up in the woods.” + </p> + <p> + “But you have in your hands three million and a half, which under the + present arrangement you get free of any charge whatever.” + </p> + <p> + “And we ought to get it,” cried Daly. “Great guns! Here we intend to saw + this summer and quit. We want to get in every stick of timber we own so as + to be able to clear out of here for good and all at the close of the + season; and now this condigned jobber ties us up for a million and a + half.” + </p> + <p> + “It is exceedingly annoying,” conceded Thorpe, “and it is a good deal of + Radway's fault, I am willing to admit, but it's your fault too.” + </p> + <p> + “To be sure,” replied Daly with the accent of sarcasm. + </p> + <p> + “You had no business entering into any such contract. It gave him no + show.” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose that was mainly his lookout, wasn't it? And as I already told + you, we had to protect ourselves.” + </p> + <p> + “You should have demanded security for the completion of the work. Under + your present agreement, if Radway got in the timber, you were to pay him a + fair price. If he didn't, you appropriated everything he had already done. + In other words, you made him a bet.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't care what you call it,” answered Daly, who had recovered his + good-humor in contemplation of the security of his position. “The fact + stands all right.” + </p> + <p> + “It does,” replied Thorpe unexpectedly, “and I'm glad of it. Now let's + examine a few figures. You owned five million feet of timber, which at the + price of stumpage” (standing trees) “was worth ten thousand dollars.” + </p> + <p> + “Well.” + </p> + <p> + “You come out at the end of the season with three million and a half of + saw logs, which with the four dollars' worth of logging added, are worth + twenty-one thousand dollars.” + </p> + <p> + “Hold on!” cried Daly, “we paid Radway four dollars; we could have done it + ourselves for less.” + </p> + <p> + “You could not have done it for one cent less than four-twenty in that + country,” replied Thorpe, “as any expert will testify.” + </p> + <p> + “Why did we give it to Radway at four, then?” + </p> + <p> + “You saved the expense of a salaried overseer, and yourselves some + bother,” replied Thorpe. “Radway could do it for less, because, for some + strange reason which you yourself do not understand, a jobber can always + log for less than a company.” + </p> + <p> + “We could have done it for four,” insisted Daly stubbornly, “but get on. + What are you driving at? My time's valuable.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, put her at four, then,” agreed Thorpe. “That makes your saw logs + worth over twenty thousand dollars. Of this value Radway added thirteen + thousand. You have appropriated that much of his without paying him one + cent.” + </p> + <p> + Daly seemed amused. “How about the million and a half feet of ours HE + appropriated?” he asked quietly. + </p> + <p> + “I'm coming to that. Now for your losses. At the stumpage rate your + million and a half which Radway 'appropriated' would be only three + thousand. But for the sake of argument, we'll take the actual sum you'd + have received for saw logs. Even then the million and a half would only + have been worth between eight and nine thousand. Deducting this purely + theoretical loss Radway has occasioned you, from the amount he has gained + for you, you are still some four or five thousand ahead of the game. For + that you paid him nothing.” + </p> + <p> + “That's Radway's lookout.” + </p> + <p> + “In justice you should pay him that amount. He is a poor man. He has sunk + all he owned in this venture, some twelve thousand dollars, and he has + nothing to live on. Even if you pay him five thousand, he has lost + considerable, while you have gained.” + </p> + <p> + “How have we gained by this bit of philanthropy?” + </p> + <p> + “Because you originally paid in cash for all that timber on the stump just + ten thousand dollars and you get from Radway saw logs to the value of + twenty,” replied Thorpe sharply. “Besides you still own the million and a + half which, if you do not care to put them in yourself, you can sell for + something on the skids.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't you know, young man, that white pine logs on skids will spoil + utterly in a summer? Worms get into em.” + </p> + <p> + “I do,” replied Thorpe, “unless you bark them; which process will cost you + about one dollar a thousand. You can find any amount of small purchasers + at reduced price. You can sell them easily at three dollars. That nets you + for your million and a half a little over four thousand dollars more. + Under the circumstances, I do not think that my request for five thousand + is at all exorbitant.” + </p> + <p> + Daly laughed. “You are a shrewd figurer, and your remarks are + interesting,” said he. + </p> + <p> + “Will you give five thousand dollars?” asked Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “I will not,” replied Daly, then with a sudden change of humor, “and now + I'll do a little talking. I've listened to you just as long as I'm going + to. I have Radway's contract in that safe and I live up to it. I'll thank + you to go plumb to hell!” + </p> + <p> + “That's your last word, is it?” asked Thorpe, rising. + </p> + <p> + “It is.” + </p> + <p> + “Then,” said he slowly and distinctly, “I'll tell you what I'll do. I + intend to collect in full the four dollars a thousand for the three + million and a half Mr. Radway has delivered to you. In return Mr. Radway + will purchase of you at the stumpage rates of two dollars a thousand the + million and a half he failed to put in. That makes a bill against you, if + my figuring is correct, of just eleven thousand dollars. You will pay that + bill, and I will tell you why: your contract will be classed in any court + as a gambling contract for lack of consideration. You have no legal + standing in the world. I call your bluff, Mr. Daly, and I'll fight you + from the drop of the hat through every court in Christendom.” + </p> + <p> + “Fight ahead,” advised Daly sweetly, who knew perfectly well that Thorpe's + law was faulty. As a matter of fact the young man could have collected on + other grounds, but neither was aware of that. + </p> + <p> + “Furthermore,” pursued Thorpe in addition, “I'll repeat my offer before + witnesses; and if I win the first suit, I'll sue you for the money we + could have made by purchasing the extra million and a half before it had a + chance to spoil.” + </p> + <p> + This statement had its effect, for it forced an immediate settlement + before the pine on the skids should deteriorate. Daly lounged back with a + little more deadly carelessness. + </p> + <p> + “And, lastly,” concluded Thorpe, playing his trump card, “the suit from + start to finish will be published in every important paper in this + country. If you do not believe I have the influence to do this, you are at + liberty to doubt the fact.” + </p> + <p> + Daly was cogitating many things. He knew that publicity was the last thing + to be desired. Thorpe's statement had been made in view of the fact that + much of the business of a lumber firm is done on credit. He thought that + perhaps a rumor of a big suit going against the firm might weaken + confidence. As a matter of fact, this consideration had no weight whatever + with the older man, although the threat of publicity actually gained for + Thorpe what he demanded. The lumberman feared the noise of an + investigation solely and simply because his firm, like so many others, was + engaged at the time in stealing government timber in the upper peninsula. + He did not call it stealing; but that was what it amounted to. Thorpe's + shot in the air hit full. + </p> + <p> + “I think we can arrange a basis of settlement,” he said finally. “Be here + to-morrow morning at ten with Radway.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” said Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “By the way,” remarked Daly, “I don't believe I know your name?” + </p> + <p> + “Thorpe,” was the reply. + </p> + <p> + “Well, Mr. Thorpe,” said the lumberman with cold anger, “if at any time + there is anything within my power or influence that you want—I'll + see that you don't get it.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XV + </h2> + <p> + The whole affair was finally compromised for nine thousand dollars. + Radway, grateful beyond expression, insisted on Thorpe's acceptance of an + even thousand of it. With this money in hand, the latter felt justified in + taking a vacation for the purpose of visiting his sister, so in two days + after the signing of the check he walked up the straight garden path that + led to Renwick's home. + </p> + <p> + It was a little painted frame house, back from the street, fronted by a + precise bit of lawn, with a willow bush at one corner. A white picket + fence effectually separated it from a broad, shaded, not unpleasing + street. An osage hedge and a board fence respectively bounded the side and + back. + </p> + <p> + Under the low porch Thorpe rang the bell at a door flanked by two long, + narrow strips of imitation stained glass. He entered then a little dark + hall from which the stairs rose almost directly at the door, containing + with difficulty a hat-rack and a table on which rested a card tray with + cards. In the course of greeting an elderly woman, he stepped into the + parlor. This was a small square apartment carpeted in dark Brussels, and + stuffily glorified in the bourgeois manner by a white marble mantel-piece, + several pieces of mahogany furniture upholstered in haircloth, a table on + which reposed a number of gift books in celluloid and other fancy + bindings, an old-fashioned piano with a doily and a bit of china statuary, + a cabinet or so containing such things as ore specimens, dried seaweed and + coins, and a spindle-legged table or two upholding glass cases garnished + with stuffed birds and wax flowers. The ceiling was so low that the heavy + window hangings depended almost from the angle of it and the walls. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe, by some strange freak of psychology, suddenly recalled a wild, + windy day in the forest. He had stood on the top of a height. He saw again + the sharp puffs of snow, exactly like the smoke from bursting shells, + where a fierce swoop of the storm struck the laden tops of pines; the + dense swirl, again exactly like smoke but now of a great fire, that marked + the lakes. The picture super-imposed itself silently over this stuffy + bourgeois respectability, like the shadow of a dream. He heard plainly + enough the commonplace drawl of the woman before him offering him the + platitudes of her kind. + </p> + <p> + “You are lookin' real well, Mr. Thorpe,” she was saying, “an' I just know + Helen will be glad to see you. She had a hull afternoon out to-day and + won't be back to tea. Dew set and tell me about what you've been a-doin' + and how you're a-gettin' along.” + </p> + <p> + “No, thank you, Mrs. Renwick,” he replied, “I'll come back later. How is + Helen?” + </p> + <p> + “She's purty well; and sech a nice girL I think she's getting right + handsome.” + </p> + <p> + “Can you tell me where she went?” + </p> + <p> + But Mrs. Renwick did not know. So Thorpe wandered about the maple-shaded + streets of the little town. + </p> + <p> + For the purposes he had in view five hundred dollars would be none too + much. The remaining five hundred he had resolved to invest in his sister's + comfort and happiness. He had thought the matter over and come to his + decision in that secretive, careful fashion so typical of him, working + over every logical step of his induction so thoroughly that it ended by + becoming part of his mental fiber. So when he reached the conclusion it + had already become to him an axiom. In presenting it as such to his + sister, he never realized that she had not followed with him the logical + steps, and so could hardly be expected to accept the conclusion + out-of-hand. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe wished to give his sister the best education possible in the + circumstances. She was now nearly eighteen years old. He knew likewise + that he would probably experience a great deal of difficulty in finding + another family which would afford the young girl quite the same equality + coupled with so few disadvantages. Admitted that its level of intellect + and taste was not high, Mrs. Renwick was on the whole a good influence. + Helen had not in the least the position of servant, but of a daughter. She + helped around the house; and in return she was fed, lodged and clothed for + nothing. + </p> + <p> + So though the money might have enabled Helen to live independently in a + modest way for a year or so, Thorpe preferred that she remain where she + was. His game was too much a game of chance. He might find himself at the + end of the year without further means. Above all things he wished to + assure Helen's material safety until such time as he should be quite + certain of himself. + </p> + <p> + In pursuance of this idea he had gradually evolved what seemed to him an + excellent plan. He had already perfected it by correspondence with Mrs. + Renwick. It was, briefly, this: he, Thorpe, would at once hire a servant + girl, who would make anything but supervision unnecessary in so small a + household. The remainder of the money he had already paid for a year's + tuition in the Seminary of the town. Thus Helen gained her leisure and an + opportunity for study; and still retained her home in case of reverse. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe found his sister already a young lady. After the first delight of + meeting had passed, they sat side by side on the haircloth sofa and took + stock of each other. + </p> + <p> + Helen had developed from the school child to the woman. She was a handsome + girl, possessed of a slender, well-rounded form, deep hazel eyes with the + level gaze of her brother, a clean-cut patrician face, and a thorough-bred + neatness of carriage that advertised her good blood. Altogether a figure + rather aloof, a face rather impassive; but with the possibility of passion + and emotion, and a will to back them. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, but you're tanned and—and BIG!” she cried, kissing her brother. + “You've had such a strange winter, haven't you?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” he replied absently. + </p> + <p> + Another man would have struck her young imagination with the wild, free + thrill of the wilderness. Thus he would have gained her sympathy and + understanding. Thorpe was too much in earnest. + </p> + <p> + “Things came a little better than I thought they were going to, toward the + last,” said he, “and I made a little money.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I'm so glad!” she cried. “Was it much?” + </p> + <p> + “No, not much,” he answered. The actual figures would have been so much + better! “I've made arrangements with Mrs. Renwick to hire a servant girl, + so you will have all your time free; and I have paid a year's tuition for + you in the Seminary.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” said the girl, and fell silent. + </p> + <p> + After a time, “Thank you very much, Harry dear.” Then after another + interval, “I think I'll go get ready for supper.” + </p> + <p> + Instead of getting ready for supper, she paced excitedly up and down her + room. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, why DIDN'T he say what he was about?” she cried to herself. “Why + didn't he! Why didn't he!” + </p> + <p> + Next morning she opened the subject again. + </p> + <p> + “Harry, dear,” said she, “I have a little scheme, and I want to see if it + is not feasible. How much will the girl and the Seminary cost?” + </p> + <p> + “About four hundred dollars.” + </p> + <p> + “Well now, see, dear. With four hundred dollars I can live for a year very + nicely by boarding with some girls I know who live in a sort of a club; + and I could learn much more by going to the High School and continuing + with some other classes I am interested in now. Why see, Harry!” she + cried, all interest. “We have Professor Carghill come twice a week to + teach us English, and Professor Johns, who teaches us history, and we hope + to get one or two more this winter. If I go to the Seminary, I'll have to + miss all that. And Harry, really I don't want to go to the Seminary. I + don't think I should like it. I KNOW I shouldn't.” + </p> + <p> + “But why not live here, Helen?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Because I'm TIRED of it!” she cried; “sick to the soul of the stuffiness, + and the glass cases, and the—the GOODNESS of it!” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe remembered his vision of the wild, wind-tossed pines, and sighed. + He wanted very, very much to act in accordance with his sister's desires, + although he winced under the sharp hurt pang of the sensitive man whose + intended kindness is not appreciated. The impossibility of complying, + however, reacted to shut his real ideas and emotions the more inscrutably + within him. + </p> + <p> + “I'm afraid you would not find the girls' boarding-club scheme a good one, + Helen,” said he. “You'd find it would work better in theory than in + practice.” + </p> + <p> + “But it has worked with the other girls!” she cried. + </p> + <p> + “I think you would be better off here.” + </p> + <p> + Helen bravely choked back her disappointment. + </p> + <p> + “I might live here, but let the Seminary drop, anyway. That would save a + good deal,” she begged. “I'd get quite as much good out of my work + outside, and then we'd have all that money besides.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know; I'll see,” replied Thorpe. “The mental discipline of + class-room work might be a good thing.” + </p> + <p> + He had already thought of this modification himself, but with his + characteristic caution, threw cold water on the scheme until he could + ascertain definitely whether or not it was practicable. He had already + paid the tuition for the year, and was in doubt as to its repayment. As a + matter of fact, the negotiation took about two weeks. + </p> + <p> + During that time Helen Thorpe went through her disappointment and emerged + on the other side. Her nature was at once strong and adaptable. One by one + she grappled with the different aspects of the case, and turned them the + other way. By a tour de force she actually persuaded herself that her own + plan was not really attractive to her. But what heart-breaks and tears + this cost her, only those who in their youth have encountered such + absolute negations of cherished ideas can guess. + </p> + <p> + Then Thorpe told her. + </p> + <p> + “I've fixed it, Helen,” said he. “You can attend the High School and the + classes, if you please. I have put the two hundred and fifty dollars out + at interest for you.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Harry!” she cried reproachfully. “Why didn't you tell me before!” + </p> + <p> + He did not understand; but the pleasure of it had all faded. She no longer + felt enthusiasm, nor gratitude, nor anything except a dull feeling that + she had been unnecessarily discouraged. And on his side, Thorpe was + vaguely wounded. + </p> + <p> + The days, however, passed in the main pleasurably for them both. They were + fond of one another. The barrier slowly rising between them was not yet + cemented by lack of affection on either side, but rather by lack of belief + in the other's affection. Helen imagined Thorpe's interest in her becoming + daily more perfunctory. Thorpe fancied his sister cold, unreasoning, and + ungrateful. As yet this was but the vague dust of a cloud. They could not + forget that, but for each other, they were alone in the world. Thorpe + delayed his departure from day to day, making all the preparations he + possibly could at home. + </p> + <p> + Finally Helen came on him busily unpacking a box which a dray had left at + the door. He unwound and laid one side a Winchester rifle, a variety of + fishing tackle, and some other miscellanies of the woodsman. Helen was + struck by the beauty of the sporting implements. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Harry!” she cried, “aren't they fine! What are you going to do with + them?” + </p> + <p> + “Going camping,” replied Thorpe, his head in the excelsior. + </p> + <p> + “When?” + </p> + <p> + “This summer.” + </p> + <p> + Helen's eyes lit up with a fire of delight. “How nice! May I go with you?” + she cried. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe shook his head. + </p> + <p> + “I'm afraid not, little girl. It's going to be a hard trip a long ways + from anywhere. You couldn't stand it.” + </p> + <p> + “I'm sure I could. Try me.” + </p> + <p> + “No,” replied Thorpe. “I know you couldn't. We'll be sleeping on the + ground and going on foot through much extremely difficult country.” + </p> + <p> + “I wish you'd take me somewhere,” pursued Helen. “I can't get away this + summer unless you do. Why don't you camp somewhere nearer home, so I can + go?” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe arose and kissed her tenderly. He was extremely sorry that he could + not spend the summer with his sister, but he believed likewise that their + future depended to a great extent on this very trip. But he did not say + so. + </p> + <p> + “I can't, little girl; that's all. We've got our way to make.” + </p> + <p> + She understood that he considered the trip too expensive for them both. At + this moment a paper fluttered from the excelsior. She picked it up. A + glance showed her a total of figures that made her gasp. + </p> + <p> + “Here is your bill,” she said with a strange choke in her voice, and left + the room. + </p> + <p> + “He can spend sixty dollars on his old guns; but he can't afford to let me + leave this hateful house,” she complained to the apple tree. “He can go + 'way off camping somewhere to have a good time, but he leaves me + sweltering in this miserable little town all summer. I don't care if he IS + supporting me. He ought to. He's my brother. Oh, I wish I were a man; I + wish I were dead!” + </p> + <p> + Three days later Thorpe left for the north. He was reluctant to go. When + the time came, he attempted to kiss Helen good-by. She caught sight of the + rifle in its new leather and canvas case, and on a sudden impulse which + she could not explain to herself, she turned away her face and ran into + the house. Thorpe, vaguely hurt, a little resentful, as the genuinely + misunderstood are apt to be, hesitated a moment, then trudged down the + street. Helen too paused at the door, choking back her grief. + </p> + <p> + “Harry! Harry!” she cried wildly; but it was too late. + </p> + <p> + Both felt themselves to be in the right. Each realized this fact in the + other. Each recognized the impossibility of imposing his own point of view + over the other's. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART2" id="link2H_PART2"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PART II. THE LANDLOOKER + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XVI + </h2> + <p> + In every direction the woods. Not an opening of any kind offered the mind + a breathing place under the free sky. Sometimes the pine groves,—vast, + solemn, grand, with the patrician aloofness of the truly great; sometimes + the hardwood,—bright, mysterious, full of life; sometimes the + swamps,—dark, dank, speaking with the voices of the shyer creatures; + sometimes the spruce and balsam thickets,—aromatic, enticing. But + never the clear, open sky. + </p> + <p> + And always the woods creatures, in startling abundance and tameness. The + solitary man with the packstraps across his forehead and shoulders had + never seen so many of them. They withdrew silently before him as he + advanced. They accompanied him on either side, watching him with + intelligent, bright eyes. They followed him stealthily for a little + distance, as though escorting him out of their own particular territory. + Dozens of times a day the traveller glimpsed the flaunting white flags of + deer. Often the creatures would take but a few hasty jumps, and then would + wheel, the beautiful embodiments of the picture deer, to snort and paw the + leaves. Hundreds of birds, of which he did not know the name, stooped to + his inspection, whirred away at his approach, or went about their business + with hardy indifference under his very eyes. Blase porcupines trundled + superbly from his path. Once a mother-partridge simulated a broken wing, + fluttering painfully. Early one morning the traveller ran plump on a fat + lolling bear, taking his ease from the new sun, and his meal from a panic + stricken army of ants. As beseemed two innocent wayfarers they honored + each other with a salute of surprise, and went their way. And all about + and through, weaving, watching, moving like spirits, were the forest + multitudes which the young man never saw, but which he divined, and of + whose movements he sometimes caught for a single instant the faintest + patter or rustle. It constituted the mystery of the forest, that great + fascinating, lovable mystery which, once it steals into the heart of a + man, has always a hearing and a longing when it makes its voice heard. + </p> + <p> + The young man's equipment was simple in the extreme. Attached to a heavy + leather belt of cartridges hung a two-pound ax and a sheath knife. In his + pocket reposed a compass, an air-tight tin of matches, and a map drawn on + oiled paper of a district divided into sections. Some few of the sections + were colored, which indicated that they belonged to private parties. All + the rest was State or Government land. He carried in his hand a repeating + rifle. The pack, if opened, would have been found to contain a woolen and + a rubber blanket, fishing tackle, twenty pounds or so of flour, a package + of tea, sugar, a slab of bacon carefully wrapped in oiled cloth, salt, a + suit of underwear, and several extra pairs of thick stockings. To the + outside of the pack had been strapped a frying pan, a tin pail, and a cup. + </p> + <p> + For more than a week Thorpe had journeyed through the forest without + meeting a human being, or seeing any indications of man, excepting always + the old blaze of the government survey. Many years before, officials had + run careless lines through the country along the section-boundaries. At + this time the blazes were so weather-beaten that Thorpe often found + difficulty in deciphering the indications marked on them. These latter + stated always the section, the township, and the range east or west by + number. All Thorpe had to do was to find the same figures on his map. He + knew just where he was. By means of his compass he could lay his course to + any point that suited his convenience. + </p> + <p> + The map he had procured at the United States Land Office in Detroit. He + had set out with the scanty equipment just described for the purpose of + “looking” a suitable bunch of pine in the northern peninsula, which, at + that time, was practically untouched. Access to its interior could be + obtained only on foot or by river. The South Shore Railroad was already + engaged in pushing a way through the virgin forest, but it had as yet + penetrated only as far as Seney; and after all, had been projected more + with the idea of establishing a direct route to Duluth and the copper + districts than to aid the lumber industry. Marquette, Menominee, and a few + smaller places along the coast were lumbering near at home; but they + shipped entirely by water. Although the rest of the peninsula also was + finely wooded, a general impression obtained among the craft that it would + prove too inaccessible for successful operation. + </p> + <p> + Furthermore, at that period, a great deal of talk was believed as to the + inexhaustibility of Michigan pine. Men in a position to know what they + were talking about stated dogmatically that the forests of the southern + peninsula would be adequate for a great many years to come. Furthermore, + the magnificent timber of the Saginaw, Muskegon, and Grand River valleys + in the southern peninsula occupied entire attention. No one cared to + bother about property at so great a distance from home. As a consequence, + few as yet knew even the extent of the resources so far north. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe, however, with the far-sightedness of the born pioneer, had + perceived that the exploitation of the upper country was an affair of a + few years only. + </p> + <p> + The forests of southern Michigan were vast, but not limitless, and they + had all passed into private ownership. The north, on the other hand, would + not prove as inaccessible as it now seemed, for the carrying trade would + some day realize that the entire waterway of the Great Lakes offered an + unrivalled outlet. With that elementary discovery would begin a rush to + the new country. Tiring of a profitless employment further south he + resolved to anticipate it, and by acquiring his holdings before general + attention should be turned that way, to obtain of the best. + </p> + <p> + He was without money, and practically without friends; while Government + and State lands cost respectively two dollars and a half and a dollar and + a quarter an acre, cash down. But he relied on the good sense of + capitalists to perceive, from the statistics which his explorations would + furnish, the wonderful advantage of logging a new country with the chain + of Great Lakes as shipping outlet at its very door. In return for his + information, he would expect a half interest in the enterprise. This is + the usual method of procedure adopted by landlookers everywhere. + </p> + <p> + We have said that the country was quite new to logging, but the statement + is not strictly accurate. Thorpe was by no means the first to see the + money in northern pine. Outside the big mill districts already named, + cuttings of considerable size were already under way, the logs from which + were usually sold to the mills of Marquette or Menominee. Here and there + along the best streams, men had already begun operations. + </p> + <p> + But they worked on a small scale and with an eye to the immediate present + only; bending their efforts to as large a cut as possible each season + rather than to the acquisition of holdings for future operations. This + they accomplished naively by purchasing one forty and cutting a dozen. + Thorpe's map showed often near the forks of an important stream a section + whose coloring indicated private possession. Legally the owners had the + right only to the pine included in the marked sections; but if anyone had + taken the trouble to visit the district, he would have found operations + going on for miles up and down stream. The colored squares would prove to + be nothing but so many excuses for being on the ground. The bulk of the + pine of any season's cut he would discover had been stolen from unbought + State or Government land. + </p> + <p> + This in the old days was a common enough trick. One man, at present a + wealthy and respected citizen, cut for six years, and owned just one + forty-acres! Another logged nearly fifty million feet from an eighty! In + the State to-day live prominent business men, looked upon as models in + every way, good fellows, good citizens, with sons and daughters proud of + their social position, who, nevertheless, made the bulk of their fortunes + by stealing Government pine. + </p> + <p> + “What you want to-day, old man?” inquired a wholesale lumber dealer of an + individual whose name now stands for domestic and civic virtue. + </p> + <p> + “I'll have five or six million saw logs to sell you in the spring, and I + want to know what you'll give for them.” + </p> + <p> + “Go on!” expostulated the dealer with a laugh, “ain't you got that forty + all cut yet?” + </p> + <p> + “She holds out pretty well,” replied the other with a grin. + </p> + <p> + An official, called the Inspector, is supposed to report such stealings, + after which another official is to prosecute. Aside from the fact that the + danger of discovery is practically zero in so wild and distant a country, + it is fairly well established that the old-time logger found these two + individuals susceptible to the gentle art of “sugaring.” The officials, as + well as the lumberman, became rich. If worst came to worst, and + investigation seemed imminent, the operator could still purchase the land + at legal rates, and so escape trouble. But the intention to appropriate + was there, and, to confess the truth, the whitewashing by purchase needed + but rarely to be employed. I have time and again heard landlookers assert + that the old Land Offices were rarely “on the square,” but as to that I + cannot, of course, venture an opinion. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe was perfectly conversant with this state of affairs. He knew, also, + that in all probability many of the colored districts on his map + represented firms engaged in steals of greater or less magnitude. He was + further aware that most of the concerns stole the timber because it was + cheaper to steal than to buy; but that they would buy readily enough if + forced to do so in order to prevent its acquisition by another. This other + might be himself. In his exploration, therefore, he decided to employ the + utmost circumspection. As much as possible he purposed to avoid other men; + but if meetings became inevitable, he hoped to mask his real intentions. + He would pose as a hunter and fisherman. + </p> + <p> + During the course of his week in the woods, he discovered that he would be + forced eventually to resort to this expedient. He encountered quantities + of fine timber in the country through which he travelled, and some day it + would be logged, but at present the difficulties were too great. The + streams were shallow, or they did not empty into a good shipping port. + Investors would naturally look first for holdings along the more + practicable routes. + </p> + <p> + A cursory glance sufficed to show that on such waters the little red + squares had already blocked a foothold for other owners. Thorpe surmised + that he would undoubtedly discover fine unbought timber along their banks, + but that the men already engaged in stealing it would hardly be likely to + allow him peaceful acquisition. + </p> + <p> + For a week, then, he journeyed through magnificent timber without finding + what he sought, working always more and more to the north, until finally + he stood on the shores of Superior. Up to now the streams had not suited + him. He resolved to follow the shore west to the mouth of a fairly large + river called the Ossawinamakee.* It showed, in common with most streams of + its size, land already taken, but Thorpe hoped to find good timber nearer + the mouth. After several days' hard walking with this object in view, he + found himself directly north of a bend in the river; so, without troubling + to hunt for its outlet into Superior, he turned through the woods due + south, with the intention of striking in on the stream. This he succeeded + in accomplishing some twenty miles inland, where also he discovered a + well-defined and recently used trail leading up the river. Thorpe camped + one night at the bend, and then set out to follow the trail. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Accent the last syllable. +</pre> + <p> + It led him for upwards of ten miles nearly due south, sometimes + approaching, sometimes leaving the river, but keeping always in its + direction. The country in general was rolling. Low parallel ridges of + gentle declivity glided constantly across his way, their valleys sloping + to the river. Thorpe had never seen a grander forest of pine than that + which clothed them. + </p> + <p> + For almost three miles, after the young man had passed through a + preliminary jungle of birch, cedar, spruce, and hemlock, it ran without a + break, clear, clean, of cloud-sweeping altitude, without underbrush. Most + of it was good bull-sap, which is known by the fineness of the bark, + though often in the hollows it shaded gradually into the rough-skinned + cork pine. In those days few people paid any attention to the Norway, and + hemlock was not even thought of. With every foot of the way Thorpe became + more and more impressed. + </p> + <p> + At first the grandeur, the remoteness, the solemnity of the virgin forest + fell on his spirit with a kind of awe. The tall, straight trunks lifted + directly upwards to the vaulted screen through which the sky seemed as + remote as the ceiling of a Roman church. Ravens wheeled and croaked in the + blue, but infinitely far away. Some lesser noises wove into the stillness + without breaking the web of its splendor, for the pine silence laid soft, + hushing fingers on the lips of those who might waken the sleeping + sunlight. + </p> + <p> + Then the spirit of the pioneer stirred within his soul. The wilderness + sent forth its old-time challenge to the hardy. In him awoke that instinct + which, without itself perceiving the end on which it is bent, clears the + way for the civilization that has been ripening in old-world hot-houses + during a thousand years. Men must eat; and so the soil must be made + productive. We regret, each after his manner, the passing of the Indian, + the buffalo, the great pine forests, for they are of the picturesque; but + we live gladly on the product of the farms that have taken their places. + Southern Michigan was once a pine forest: now the twisted stump-fences + about the most fertile farms of the north alone break the expanse of + prairie and of trim “wood-lots.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe knew little of this, and cared less. These feathered trees, + standing close-ranked and yet each isolate in the dignity and gravity of a + sphinx of stone set to dancing his blood of the frontiersman. He spread + out his map to make sure that so valuable a clump of timber remained still + unclaimed. A few sections lying near the headwaters were all he found + marked as sold. He resumed his tramp light-heartedly. + </p> + <p> + At the ten-mile point he came upon a dam. It was a crude dam,—built + of logs,—whose face consisted of strong buttresses slanted + up-stream, and whose sheer was made of unbarked timbers laid smoothly side + by side at the required angle. At present its gate was open. Thorpe could + see that it was an unusually large gate, with a powerful apparatus for the + raising and the lowering of it. + </p> + <p> + The purpose of the dam in this new country did not puzzle him in the + least, but its presence bewildered him. Such constructions are often + thrown across logging streams at proper intervals in order that the + operator may be independent of the spring freshets. When he wishes to + “drive” his logs to the mouth of the stream, he first accumulates a head + of water behind his dams, and then, by lifting the gates, creates an + artificial freshet sufficient to float his timber to the pool formed by + the next dam below. The device is common enough; but it is expensive. + People do not build dams except in the certainty of some years of logging, + and quite extensive logging at that. If the stream happens to be + navigable, the promoter must first get an Improvement Charter from a board + of control appointed by the State. So Thorpe knew that he had to deal, not + with a hand-to-mouth-timber-thief, but with a great company preparing to + log the country on a big scale. + </p> + <p> + He continued his journey. At noon he came to another and similar + structure. The pine forest had yielded to knolls of hardwood separated by + swamp-holes of blackthorn. Here he left his pack and pushed ahead in light + marching order. About eight miles above the first dam, and eighteen from + the bend of the river, he ran into a “slashing” of the year before. The + decapitated stumps were already beginning to turn brown with weather, the + tangle of tops and limbs was partially concealed by poplar growths and + wild raspberry vines. Parenthetically, it may be remarked that the + promptitude with which these growths succeed the cutting of the pine is an + inexplicable marvel. Clear forty acres at random in the very center of a + pine forest, without a tract of poplar within an hundred miles; the next + season will bring up the fresh shoots. Some claim that blue jays bring the + seeds in their crops. Others incline to the theory that the creative + elements lie dormant in the soil, needing only the sun to start them to + life. Final speculation is impossible, but the fact stands. + </p> + <p> + To Thorpe this particular clearing became at once of the greatest + interest. He scrambled over and through the ugly debris which for a year + or two after logging operations cumbers the ground. By a rather prolonged + search he found what he sought,—the “section corners” of the tract, + on which the government surveyor had long ago marked the “descriptions.” A + glance at the map confirmed his suspicions. The slashing lay some two + miles north of the sections designated as belonging to private parties. It + was Government land. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe sat down, lit a pipe, and did a little thinking. + </p> + <p> + As an axiom it may be premised that the shorter the distance logs have to + be transported, the less it costs to get them in. Now Thorpe had that very + morning passed through beautiful timber lying much nearer the mouth of the + river than either this, or the sections further south. Why had these men + deliberately ascended the stream? Why had they stolen timber eighteen + miles from the bend, when they could equally well have stolen just as good + fourteen miles nearer the terminus of their drive? + </p> + <p> + Thorpe ruminated for some time without hitting upon a solution. Then + suddenly he remembered the two dams, and his idea that the men in charge + of the river must be wealthy and must intend operating on a large scale. + He thought he glimpsed it. After another pipe, he felt sure. + </p> + <p> + The Unknowns were indeed going in on a large scale. They intended + eventually to log the whole of the Ossawinamakee basin. For this reason + they had made their first purchase, planted their first foot-hold, near + the headwaters. Furthermore, located as they were far from a present or an + immediately future civilization, they had felt safe in leaving for the + moment their holdings represented by the three sections already described. + Some day they would buy all the standing Government pine in the basin; but + in the meantime they would steal all they could at a sufficient distance + from the lake to minimize the danger of discovery. They had not dared to + appropriate the three mile tract Thorpe had passed through, because in + that locality the theft would probably be remarked, so they intended + eventually to buy it. Until that should become necessary, however, every + stick cut meant so much less to purchase. + </p> + <p> + “They're going to cut, and keep on cutting, working down river as fast as + they can,” argued Thorpe. “If anything happens so they have to, they'll + buy in the pine that is left; but if things go well with them, they'll + take what they can for nothing. They're getting this stuff out up-river + first, because they can steal safer while the country is still unsettled; + and even when it does fill up, there will not be much likelihood of an + investigation so far in-country,—at least until after they have + folded their tents.” + </p> + <p> + It seems to us who are accustomed to the accurate policing of our + twentieth century, almost incredible that such wholesale robberies should + have gone on with so little danger of detection. Certainly detection was a + matter of sufficient simplicity. Someone happens along, like Thorpe, + carrying a Government map in his pocket. He runs across a parcel of + unclaimed land already cut over. It would seem easy to lodge a complaint, + institute a prosecution against the men known to have put in the timber. + BUT IT IS ALMOST NEVER DONE. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe knew that men occupied in so precarious a business would be keenly + on the watch. At the first hint of rivalry, they would buy in the timber + they had selected. But the situation had set his fighting blood to racing. + The very fact that these men were thieves on so big a scale made him the + more obstinately determined to thwart them. They undoubtedly wanted the + tract down river. Well, so did he! + </p> + <p> + He purposed to look it over carefully, to ascertain its exact boundaries + and what sections it would be necessary to buy in order to include it, and + perhaps even to estimate it in a rough way. In the accomplishment of this + he would have to spend the summer, and perhaps part of the fall, in that + district. He could hardly expect to escape notice. By the indications on + the river, he judged that a crew of men had shortly before taken out a + drive of logs. After the timber had been rafted and towed to Marquette, + they would return. He might be able to hide in the forest, but sooner or + later, he was sure, one of the company's landlookers or hunters would + stumble on his camp. Then his very concealment would tell them what he was + after. The risk was too great. For above all things Thorpe needed time. He + had, as has been said, to ascertain what he could offer. Then he had to + offer it. He would be forced to interest capital, and that is a matter of + persuasion and leisure. + </p> + <p> + Finally his shrewd, intuitive good-sense flashed the solution on him. He + returned rapidly to his pack, assumed the straps, and arrived at the first + dam about dark of the long summer day. + </p> + <p> + There he looked carefully about him. Some fifty feet from the water's edge + a birch knoll supported, besides the birches, a single big hemlock. With + his belt ax, Thorpe cleared away the little white trees. He stuck the + sharpened end of one of them in the bark of the shaggy hemlock, fastened + the other end in a crotch eight or ten feet distant, slanted the rest of + the saplings along one side of this ridge pole, and turned in, after a + hasty supper, leaving the completion of his permanent camp to the morrow. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XVII + </h2> + <p> + In the morning he thatched smooth the roof of the shelter, using for the + purpose the thick branches of hemlocks; placed two green spruce logs side + by side as cooking range; slung his pot on a rod across two forked sticks; + cut and split a quantity of wood; spread his blankets; and called himself + established. His beard was already well grown, and his clothes had become + worn by the brush and faded by the sun and rain. In the course of the + morning he lay in wait very patiently near a spot overflowed by the river, + where, the day before, he had noticed lily-pads growing. After a time a + doe and a spotted fawn came and stood ankle-deep in the water, and ate of + the lily-pads. Thorpe lurked motionless behind his screen of leaves; and + as he had taken the precaution so to station himself that his hiding-place + lay downwind, the beautiful animals were unaware of his presence. + </p> + <p> + By and by a prong-buck joined them. He was a two-year-old, young, tender, + with the velvet just off his antlers. Thorpe aimed at his shoulder, six + inches above the belly-line, and pressed the trigger. As though by + enchantment the three woods creatures disappeared. But the hunter had + noticed that, whereas the doe and fawn flourished bravely the broad white + flags of their tails, the buck had seemed but a streak of brown. By this + he knew he had hit. + </p> + <p> + Sure enough, after two hundred yards of following the prints of sharp + hoofs and occasional gobbets of blood on the leaves, he came upon his prey + dead. It became necessary to transport the animal to camp. Thorpe stuck + his hunting knife deep into the front of the deer's chest, where the neck + joins, which allowed most of the blood to drain away. Then he fastened + wild grape vines about the antlers, and, with a little exertion drew the + body after him as though it had been a toboggan. + </p> + <p> + It slid more easily than one would imagine, along the grain; but not as + easily as by some other methods with which Thorpe was unfamiliar. + </p> + <p> + At camp he skinned the deer, cut most of the meat into thin strips which + he salted and placed in the sun to dry, and hung the remainder in a cool + arbor of boughs. The hide he suspended over a pole. + </p> + <p> + All these things he did hastily, as though he might be in a hurry; as + indeed he was. + </p> + <p> + At noon he cooked himself a venison steak and some tea. Then with his + hatchet he cut several small pine poles, which he fashioned roughly in a + number of shapes and put aside for the future. The brains of the deer, + saved for the purpose, he boiled with water in his tin pail, wishing it + were larger. With the liquor thus obtained he intended later to remove the + hair and grain from the deer hide. Toward evening he caught a dozen trout + in the pool below the dam. These he ate for supper. + </p> + <p> + Next day he spread the buck's hide out on the ground and drenched it + liberally with the product of deer-brains. Later the hide was soaked in + the river, after which, by means of a rough two-handled spatula, Thorpe + was enabled after much labor to scrape away entirely the hair and grain. + He cut from the edge of the hide a number of long strips of raw-hide, but + anointed the body of the skin liberally with the brain liquor. + </p> + <p> + “Glad I don't have to do that every day!” he commented, wiping his brow + with the back of his wrist. + </p> + <p> + As the skin dried he worked and kneaded it to softness. The result was a + fair quality of white buckskin, the first Thorpe had ever made. If wetted, + it would harden dry and stiff. Thorough smoking in the fumes of punk maple + would obviate this, but that detail Thorpe left until later. + </p> + <p> + “I don't know whether it's all necessary,” he said to himself doubtfully, + “but if you're going to assume a disguise, let it be a good one.” + </p> + <p> + In the meantime, he had bound together with his rawhide thongs several of + the oddly shaped pine timbers to form a species of dead-fall trap. It was + slow work, for Thorpe's knowledge of such things was theoretical. He had + learned his theory well, however, and in the end arrived. + </p> + <p> + All this time he had made no effort to look over the pine, nor did he + intend to begin until he could be sure of doing so in safety. His object + now was to give his knoll the appearances of a trapper's camp. + </p> + <p> + Towards the end of the week he received his first visit. Evening was + drawing on, and Thorpe was busily engaged in cooking a panful of trout, + resting the frying pan across the two green spruce logs between which + glowed the coals. Suddenly he became aware of a presence at his side. How + it had reached the spot he could not imagine, for he had heard no + approach. He looked up quickly. + </p> + <p> + “How do,” greeted the newcomer gravely. + </p> + <p> + The man was an Indian, silent, solemn, with the straight, unwinking gaze + of his race. + </p> + <p> + “How do,” replied Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + The Indian without further ceremony threw his pack to the ground, and, + squatting on his heels, watched the white man's preparations. When the + meal was cooked, he coolly produced a knife, selected a clean bit of + hemlock bark, and helped himself. Then he lit a pipe, and gazed keenly + about him. The buckskin interested him. + </p> + <p> + “No good,” said he, feeling of its texture. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe laughed. “Not very,” he confessed. + </p> + <p> + “Good,” continued the Indian, touching lightly his own moccasins. + </p> + <p> + “What you do?” he inquired after a long silence, punctuated by the puffs + of tobacco. + </p> + <p> + “Hunt; trap; fish,” replied Thorpe with equal sententiousness. + </p> + <p> + “Good,” concluded the Indian, after a ruminative pause. + </p> + <p> + That night he slept on the ground. Next day he made a better shelter than + Thorpe's in less than half the time; and was off hunting before the sun + was an hour high. He was armed with an old-fashioned smooth-bore + muzzle-loader; and Thorpe was astonished, after he had become better + acquainted with his new companion's methods, to find that he hunted deer + with fine bird shot. The Indian never expected to kill or even mortally + wound his game; but he would follow for miles the blood drops caused by + his little wounds, until the animals in sheer exhaustion allowed him to + approach close enough for a dispatching blow. At two o'clock he returned + with a small buck, tied scientifically together for toting, with the waste + parts cut away, but every ounce of utility retained. + </p> + <p> + “I show,” said the Indian:—and he did. Thorpe learned the Indian + tan; of what use are the hollow shank bones; how the spinal cord is the + toughest, softest, and most pliable sewing-thread known. + </p> + <p> + The Indian appeared to intend making the birch-knoll his permanent + headquarters. Thorpe was at first a little suspicious of his new + companion, but the man appeared scrupulously honest, was never intrusive, + and even seemed genuinely desirous of teaching the white little tricks of + the woods brought to their perfection by the Indian alone. He ended by + liking him. The two rarely spoke. They merely sat near each other, and + smoked. One evening the Indian suddenly remarked: + </p> + <p> + “You look 'um tree.” + </p> + <p> + “What's that?” cried Thorpe, startled. + </p> + <p> + “You no hunter, no trapper. You look 'um tree, for make 'um lumber.” + </p> + <p> + The white had not begun as yet his explorations. He did not dare until the + return of the logging crew or the passing of someone in authority at the + up-river camp, for he wished first to establish in their minds the + innocence of his intentions. + </p> + <p> + “What makes you think that, Charley?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “You good man in woods,” replied Injin Charley sententiously, “I tell by + way you look at him pine.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe ruminated. + </p> + <p> + “Charley,” said he, “why are you staying here with me?” + </p> + <p> + “Big frien',” replied the Indian promptly. + </p> + <p> + “Why are you my friend? What have I ever done for you?” + </p> + <p> + “You gottum chief's eye,” replied his companion with simplicity. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe looked at the Indian again. There seemed to be only one course. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I'm a lumberman,” he confessed, “and I'm looking for pine. But, + Charley, the men up the river must not know what I'm after.” + </p> + <p> + “They gettum pine,” interjected the Indian like a flash. + </p> + <p> + “Exactly,” replied Thorpe, surprised afresh at the other's perspicacity. + </p> + <p> + “Good!” ejaculated Injin Charley, and fell silent. + </p> + <p> + With this, the longest conversation the two had attempted in their + peculiar acquaintance, Thorpe was forced to be content. He was, however, + ill at ease over the incident. It added an element of uncertainty to an + already precarious position. + </p> + <p> + Three days later he was intensely thankful the conversation had taken + place. + </p> + <p> + After the noon meal he lay on his blanket under the hemlock shelter, + smoking and lazily watching Injin Charley busy at the side of the trail. + The Indian had terminated a long two days' search by toting from the + forest a number of strips of the outer bark of white birch, in its green + state pliable as cotton, thick as leather, and light as air. These he had + cut into arbitrary patterns known only to himself, and was now sewing as a + long shapeless sort of bag or sac to a slender beech-wood oval. Later it + was to become a birch-bark canoe, and the beech-wood oval would be the + gunwale. + </p> + <p> + So idly intent was Thorpe on this piece of construction that he did not + notice the approach of two men from the down-stream side. They were short, + alert men, plodding along with the knee-bent persistency of the + woods-walker, dressed in broad hats, flannel shirts, coarse trousers + tucked in high laced “cruisers “; and carrying each a bulging meal sack + looped by a cord across the shoulders and chest. Both were armed with long + slender scaler's rules. The first intimation Thorpe received of the + presence of these two men was the sound of their voices addressing Injin + Charley. + </p> + <p> + “Hullo Charley,” said one of them, “what you doing here? Ain't seen you + since th' Sturgeon district.” + </p> + <p> + “Mak' 'um canoe,” replied Charley rather obviously. + </p> + <p> + “So I see. But what you expect to get in this Godforsaken country?” + </p> + <p> + “Beaver, muskrat, mink, otter.” + </p> + <p> + “Trapping, eh?” The man gazed keenly at Thorpe's recumbent figure. + </p> + <p> + “Who's the other fellow?” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe held his breath; then exhaled it in a long sigh of relief. + </p> + <p> + “Him white man,” Injin Charley was replying, “him hunt too. He mak' 'um + buckskin.” + </p> + <p> + The landlooker arose lazily and sauntered toward the group. It was part of + his plan to be well recognized so that in the future he might arouse no + suspicions. + </p> + <p> + “Howdy,” he drawled, “got any smokin'?” + </p> + <p> + “How are you,” replied one of the scalers, eying him sharply, and + tendering his pouch. Thorpe filled his pipe deliberately, and returned it + with a heavy-lidded glance of thanks. To all appearances he was one of the + lazy, shiftless white hunters of the backwoods. Seized with an + inspiration, he said, “What sort of chances is they at your camp for a + little flour? Me and Charley's about out. I'll bring you meat; or I'll + make you boys moccasins. I got some good buckskin.” + </p> + <p> + It was the usual proposition. + </p> + <p> + “Pretty good, I guess. Come up and see,” advised the scaler. “The crew's + right behind us.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll send up Charley,” drawled Thorpe, “I'm busy now makin' traps,” he + waved his pipe, calling attention to the pine and rawhide dead-falls. + </p> + <p> + They chatted a few moments, practically and with an eye to the strict + utility of things about them, as became woodsmen. Then two wagons creaked + lurching by, followed by fifteen or twenty men. The last of these, + evidently the foreman, was joined by the two scalers. + </p> + <p> + “What's that outfit?” he inquired with the sharpness of suspicion. + </p> + <p> + “Old Injin Charley—you remember, the old boy that tanned that buck + for you down on Cedar Creek.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, but the other fellow.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, a hunter,” replied the scaler carelessly. + </p> + <p> + “Sure?” + </p> + <p> + The man laughed. “Couldn't be nothin' else,” he asserted with confidence. + “Regular old backwoods mossback.” + </p> + <p> + At the same time Injin Charley was setting about the splitting of a cedar + log. + </p> + <p> + “You see,” he remarked, “I big frien'.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XVIII + </h2> + <p> + In the days that followed, Thorpe cruised about the great woods. It was + slow business, but fascinating. He knew that when he should embark on his + attempt to enlist considerable capital in an “unsight unseen” investment, + he would have to be well supplied with statistics. True, he was not much + of a timber estimator, nor did he know the methods usually employed, but + his experience, observation, and reading had developed a latent sixth + sense by which he could appreciate quality, difficulties of logging, and + such kindred practical matters. + </p> + <p> + First of all he walked over the country at large, to find where the best + timber lay. This was a matter of tramping; though often on an elevation he + succeeded in climbing a tall tree whence he caught bird's-eye views of the + country at large. He always carried his gun with him, and was prepared at + a moment's notice to seem engaged in hunting,—either for game or for + spots in which later to set his traps. The expedient was, however, + unnecessary. + </p> + <p> + Next he ascertained the geographical location of the different clumps and + forests, entering the sections, the quarter-sections, even the separate + forties in his note-book; taking in only the “descriptions” containing the + best pine. + </p> + <p> + Finally he wrote accurate notes concerning the topography of each and + every pine district,—the lay of the land; the hills, ravines, + swamps, and valleys; the distance from the river; the character of the + soil. In short, he accumulated all the information he could by which the + cost of logging might be estimated. + </p> + <p> + The work went much quicker than he had anticipated, mainly because he + could give his entire attention to it. Injin Charley attended to the + commissary, with a delight in the process that removed it from the + category of work. When it rained, an infrequent occurrence, the two hung + Thorpe's rubber blankets before the opening of the driest shelter, and + waited philosophically for the weather to clear. Injin Charley had + finished the first canoe, and was now leisurely at work on another. Thorpe + had filled his note-book with the class of statistics just described. He + decided now to attempt an estimate of the timber. + </p> + <p> + For this he had really too little experience. He knew it, but determined + to do his best. The weak point of his whole scheme lay in that it was + going to be impossible for him to allow the prospective purchaser a chance + of examining the pine. That difficulty Thorpe hoped to overcome by + inspiring personal confidence in himself. If he failed to do so, he might + return with a landlooker whom the investor trusted, and the two could + re-enact the comedy of this summer. Thorpe hoped, however, to avoid the + necessity. It would be too dangerous. He set about a rough estimate of the + timber. + </p> + <p> + Injin Charley intended evidently to work up a trade in buckskin during the + coming winter. Although the skins were in poor condition at this time of + the year, he tanned three more, and smoked them. In the day-time he looked + the country over as carefully as did Thorpe. But he ignored the pines, and + paid attention only to the hardwood and the beds of little creeks. Injin + Charley was in reality a trapper, and he intended to get many fine skins + in this promising district. He worked on his tanning and his canoe-making + late in the afternoon. + </p> + <p> + One evening just at sunset Thorpe was helping the Indian shape his craft. + The loose sac of birch-bark sewed to the long beech oval was slung between + two tripods. Injin Charley had fashioned a number of thin, flexible cedar + strips of certain arbitrary lengths and widths. Beginning with the + smallest of these, Thorpe and his companion were catching one end under + the beech oval, bending the strip bow-shape inside the sac, and catching + again the other side of the oval. Thus the spring of the bent cedar, + pressing against the inside of the birch-bark sac, distended it tightly. + The cut of the sac and the length of the cedar strips gave to the canoe + its graceful shape. + </p> + <p> + The two men bent there at their task, the dull glow of evening falling + upon them. Behind them the knoll stood out in picturesque relief against + the darker pine, the little shelters, the fire-places of green spruce, the + blankets, the guns, a deer's carcass suspended by the feet from a cross + pole, the drying buckskin on either side. The river rushed by with a + never-ending roar and turmoil. Through its shouting one perceived, as + through a mist, the still lofty peace of evening. + </p> + <p> + A young fellow, hardly more than a boy, exclaimed with keen delight of the + picturesque as his canoe shot around the bend into sight of it. + </p> + <p> + The canoe was large and powerful, but well filled. An Indian knelt in the + stern; amidships was well laden with duffle of all descriptions; then the + young fellow sat in the bow. He was a bright-faced, eager-eyed, + curly-haired young fellow, all enthusiasm and fire. His figure was trim + and clean, but rather slender; and his movements were quick but nervous. + When he stepped carefully out on the flat rock to which his guide brought + the canoe with a swirl of the paddle, one initiated would have seen that + his clothes, while strong and serviceable, had been bought from a sporting + catalogue. There was a trimness, a neatness, about them. + </p> + <p> + “This is a good place,” he said to the guide, “we'll camp here.” Then he + turned up the steep bank without looking back. + </p> + <p> + “Hullo!” he called in a cheerful, unembarrassed fashion to Thorpe and + Charley. “How are you? Care if I camp here? What you making? By Jove! I + never saw a canoe made before. I'm going to watch you. Keep right at it.” + </p> + <p> + He sat on one of the outcropping boulders and took off his hat. + </p> + <p> + “Say! you've got a great place here! You here all summer? Hullo! you've + got a deer hanging up. Are there many of 'em around here? I'd like to kill + a deer first rate. I never have. It's sort of out of season now, isn't + it?” + </p> + <p> + “We only kill the bucks,” replied Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “I like fishing, too,” went on the boy; “are there any here? In the pool? + John,” he called to his guide, “bring me my fishing tackle.” + </p> + <p> + In a few moments he was whipping the pool with long, graceful drops of the + fly. He proved to be adept. Thorpe and Injin Charley stopped work to watch + him. At first the Indian's stolid countenance seemed a trifle doubtful. + After a time it cleared. + </p> + <p> + “Good! he grunted. + </p> + <p> + “You do that well,” Thorpe remarked. “Is it difficult?” + </p> + <p> + “It takes practice,” replied the boy. “See that riffle?” He whipped the + fly lightly within six inches of a little suction hole; a fish at once + rose and struck. + </p> + <p> + The others had been little fellows and easily handled. At the end of + fifteen minutes the newcomer landed a fine two-pounder. + </p> + <p> + “That must be fun,” commented Thorpe. “I never happened to get in with + fly-fishing. I'd like to try it sometime.” + </p> + <p> + “Try it now!” urged the boy, enchanted that he could teach a woodsman + anything. + </p> + <p> + “No,” Thorpe declined, “not to-night, to-morrow perhaps.” + </p> + <p> + The other Indian had by now finished the erection of a tent, and had begun + to cook supper over a little sheet-iron camp stove. Thorpe and Charley + could smell ham. + </p> + <p> + “You've got quite a pantry,” remarked Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “Won't you eat with me?” proffered the boy hospitably. + </p> + <p> + But Thorpe declined. He could, however, see canned goods, hard tack, and + condensed milk. + </p> + <p> + In the course of the evening the boy approached the older man's camp, and, + with a charming diffidence, asked permission to sit awhile at their fire. + </p> + <p> + He was full of delight over everything that savored of the woods, or + woodscraft. The most trivial and everyday affairs of the life interested + him. His eager questions, so frankly proffered, aroused even the taciturn + Charley to eloquence. The construction of the shelter, the cut of a deer's + hide, the simple process of “jerking” venison,—all these awakened + his enthusiasm. + </p> + <p> + “It must be good to live in the woods,” he said with a sigh, “to do all + things for yourself. It's so free!” + </p> + <p> + The men's moccasins interested him. He asked a dozen questions about them,—how + they were cut, whether they did not hurt the feet, how long they would + wear. He seemed surprised to learn that they are excellent in cold + weather. + </p> + <p> + “I thought ANY leather would wet through in the snow!” he cried. “I wish I + could get a pair somewhere!” he exclaimed. “You don't know where I could + buy any, do you?” he asked of Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “I don't know,” answered he, “perhaps Charley here will make you a pair.” + </p> + <p> + “WILL you, Charley?” cried the boy. + </p> + <p> + “I mak' him,” replied the Indian stolidly. + </p> + <p> + The many-voiced night of the woods descended close about the little camp + fire, and its soft breezes wafted stray sparks here and there like errant + stars. The newcomer, with shining eyes, breathed deep in satisfaction. He + was keenly alive to the romance, the grandeur, the mystery, the beauty of + the littlest things, seeming to derive a deep and solid contentment from + the mere contemplation of the woods and its ways and creatures. + </p> + <p> + “I just DO love this!” he cried again and again. “Oh, it's great, after + all that fuss down there!” and he cried it so fervently that the other men + present smiled; but so genuinely that the smile had in it nothing but + kindliness. + </p> + <p> + “I came out for a month,” said he suddenly, “and I guess I'll stay the + rest of it right here. You'll let me go with you sometimes hunting, won't + you?” he appealed to them with the sudden open-heartedness of a child. + “I'd like first rate to kill a deer.” + </p> + <p> + “Sure,” said Thorpe, “glad to have you.” + </p> + <p> + “My name is Wallace Carpenter,” said the boy with a sudden unmistakable + air of good-breeding. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” laughed Thorpe, “two old woods loafers like us haven't got much + use for names. Charley here is called Geezigut, and mine's nearly as bad; + but I guess plain Charley and Harry will do.” + </p> + <p> + “All right, Harry,” replied Wallace. + </p> + <p> + After the young fellow had crawled into the sleeping bag which his guide + had spread for him over a fragrant layer of hemlock and balsam, Thorpe and + his companion smoked one more pipe. The whip-poor-wills called back and + forth across the river. Down in the thicket, fine, clear, beautiful, like + the silver thread of a dream, came the notes of the white-throat—the + nightingale of the North. Injin Charley knocked the last ashes from his + pipe. + </p> + <p> + “Him nice boy!” said he. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XIX + </h2> + <p> + The young fellow stayed three weeks, and was a constant joy to Thorpe. His + enthusiasms were so whole-souled; his delight so perpetual; his interest + so fresh! The most trivial expedients of woods lore seemed to him + wonderful. A dozen times a day he exclaimed in admiration or surprise over + some bit of woodcraft practiced by Thorpe or one of the Indians. + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean to say you have lived here six weeks and only brought in what + you could carry on your backs!” he cried. + </p> + <p> + “Sure,” Thorpe replied. + </p> + <p> + “Harry, you're wonderful! I've got a whole canoe load, and imagined I was + travelling light and roughing it. You beat Robinson Crusoe! He had a whole + ship to draw from.” + </p> + <p> + “My man Friday helps me out,” answered Thorpe, laughingly indicating Injin + Charley. + </p> + <p> + Nearly a week passed before Wallace managed to kill a deer. The animals + were plenty enough; but the young man's volatile and eager attention stole + his patience. And what few running shots offered, he missed, mainly + because of buck fever. Finally, by a lucky chance, he broke a + four-year-old's neck, dropping him in his tracks. The hunter was + delighted. He insisted on doing everything for himself—cruel hard + work it was too—including the toting and skinning. Even the tanning + he had a share in. At first he wanted the hide cured, “with the hair on.” + Injin Charley explained that the fur would drop out. It was the wrong + season of the year for pelts. + </p> + <p> + “Then we'll have buckskin and I'll get a buckskin shirt out of it,” + suggested Wallace. + </p> + <p> + Injin Charley agreed. One day Wallace returned from fishing in the pool to + find that the Indian had cut out the garment, and was already sewing it + together. + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” he cried, a little disappointed, “I wanted to see it done!” + </p> + <p> + Injin Charley merely grunted. To make a buckskin shirt requires the hides + of three deer. Charley had supplied the other two, and wished to keep the + young man from finding it out. + </p> + <p> + Wallace assumed the woods life as a man would assume an unaccustomed + garment. It sat him well, and he learned fast, but he was always conscious + of it. He liked to wear moccasins, and a deer knife; he liked to cook his + own supper, or pluck the fragrant hemlock browse for his pillow. Always he + seemed to be trying to realize and to savor fully the charm, the + picturesqueness, the romance of all that he was doing and seeing. To + Thorpe these things were a part of everyday life; matters of expedient or + necessity. He enjoyed them, but subconsciously, as one enjoys an + environment. Wallace trailed the cloak of his glories in frank admiration + of their splendor. + </p> + <p> + This double point of view brought the men very close together. Thorpe + liked the boy because he was open-hearted, free from affectation, + assumptive of no superiority,—in short, because he was direct and + sincere, although in a manner totally different from Thorpe's own + directness and sincerity. Wallace, on his part, adored in Thorpe the free, + open-air life, the adventurous quality, the quiet hidden power, the + resourcefulness and self-sufficiency of the pioneer. He was too young as + yet to go behind the picturesque or romantic; so he never thought to + inquire of himself what Thorpe did there in the wilderness, or indeed if + he did anything at all. He accepted Thorpe for what he thought him to be, + rather than for what he might think him to be. Thus he reposed unbounded + confidence in him. + </p> + <p> + After a while, observing the absolute ingenuousness of the boy, Thorpe + used to take him from time to time on some of his daily trips to the + pines. Necessarily he explained partially his position and the need of + secrecy. Wallace was immensely excited and important at learning a secret + of such moment, and deeply flattered at being entrusted with it. + </p> + <p> + Some may think that here, considering the magnitude of the interests + involved, Thorpe committed an indiscretion. It may be; but if so, it was + practically an inevitable indiscretion. Strong, reticent characters like + Thorpe's prove the need from time to time of violating their own natures, + of running counter to their ordinary habits of mind and deed. It is a + necessary relaxation of the strenuous, a debauch of the soul. Its analogy + in the lower plane is to be found in the dissipations of men of genius; or + still lower in the orgies of fighters out of training. Sooner or later + Thorpe was sure to emerge for a brief space from that iron-bound silence + of the spirit, of which he himself was the least aware. It was not so much + a hunger for affection, as the desire of a strong man temporarily to get + away from his strength. Wallace Carpenter became in his case the exception + to prove the rule. + </p> + <p> + Little by little the eager questionings of the youth extracted a full + statement of the situation. He learned of the timber-thieves up the river, + of their present operations; and their probable plans; of the valuable + pine lying still unclaimed; of Thorpe's stealthy raid into the enemy's + country. It looked big to him, epic!—These were tremendous forces in + motion, here was intrigue, here was direct practical application of the + powers he had been playing with. + </p> + <p> + “Why, it's great! It's better than any book I ever read!” + </p> + <p> + He wanted to know what he could do to help. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing except keep quiet,” replied Thorpe, already uneasy, not lest the + boy should prove unreliable, but lest his very eagerness to seem + unconcerned should arouse suspicion. “You mustn't try to act any + different. If the men from up-river come by, be just as cordial to them as + you can, and don't act mysterious and important.” + </p> + <p> + “All right,” agreed Wallace, bubbling with excitement. “And then what do + you do—after you get the timber estimated?” + </p> + <p> + “I'll go South and try, quietly, to raise some money. That will be + difficult, because, you see, people don't know me; and I am not in a + position to let them look over the timber. Of course it will be merely a + question of my judgment. They can go themselves to the Land Office and pay + their money. There won't be any chance of my making way with that. The + investors will become possessed of certain 'descriptions' lying in this + country, all right enough. The rub is, will they have enough confidence in + me and my judgment to believe the timber to be what I represent it?” + </p> + <p> + “I see,” commented Wallace, suddenly grave. + </p> + <p> + That evening Injin Charley went on with his canoe building. He melted + together in a pot, resin and pitch. The proportion he determined by + experiment, for the mixture had to be neither hard enough to crack nor + soft enough to melt in the sun. Then he daubed the mess over all the + seams. Wallace superintended the operation for a time in silence. + </p> + <p> + “Harry,” he said suddenly with a crisp decision new to his voice, “will + you take a little walk with me down by the dam. I want to talk with you.” + </p> + <p> + They strolled to the edge of the bank and stood for a moment looking at + the swirling waters. + </p> + <p> + “I want you to tell me all about logging,” began Wallace. “Start from the + beginning. Suppose, for instance, you had bought this pine here we were + talking about,—what would be your first move?” + </p> + <p> + They sat side by side on a log, and Thorpe explained. He told of the + building of the camps, the making of the roads; the cutting, swamping, + travoying, skidding; the banking and driving. Unconsciously a little of + the battle clang crept into his narrative. It became a struggle, a gasping + tug and heave for supremacy between the man and the wilderness. The + excitement of war was in it. When he had finished, Wallace drew a deep + breath. + </p> + <p> + “When I am home,” said he simply, “I live in a big house on the Lake Shore + Drive. It is heated by steam and lighted by electricity. I touch a button + or turn a screw, and at once I am lighted and warmed. At certain hours + meals are served me. I don't know how they are cooked, or where the + materials come from. Since leaving college I have spent a little time down + town every day; and then I've played golf or tennis or ridden a horse in + the park. The only real thing left is the sailing. The wind blows just as + hard and the waves mount just as high to-day as they did when Drake + sailed. All the rest is tame. We do little imitations of the real thing + with blue ribbons tied to them, and think we are camping or roughing it. + This life of yours is glorious, is vital, it means something in the march + of the world;—and I doubt whether ours does. You are subduing the + wilderness, extending the frontier. After you will come the backwoods + farmer to pull up the stumps, and after him the big farmer and the + cities.” + </p> + <p> + The young follow spoke with unexpected swiftness and earnestness. Thorpe + looked at him in surprise. + </p> + <p> + “I know what you are thinking,” said the boy, flushing. “You are surprised + that I can be in earnest about anything. I'm out of school up here. Let me + shout and play with the rest of the children.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe watched him with sympathetic eyes, but with lips that obstinately + refused to say one word. A woman would have felt rebuffed. The boy's + admiration, however, rested on the foundation of the more manly qualities + he had already seen in his friend. Perhaps this very aloofness, this very + silent, steady-eyed power appealed to him. + </p> + <p> + “I left college at nineteen because my father died,” said he. “I am now + just twenty-one. A large estate descended to me, and I have had to care + for its investments all alone. I have one sister, that is all.” + </p> + <p> + “So have I,” cried Thorpe, and stopped. + </p> + <p> + “The estates have not suffered,” went on the boy simply. “I have done well + with them. But,” he cried fiercely, “I HATE it! It is petty and mean and + worrying and nagging! That's why I was so glad to get out in the woods.” + </p> + <p> + He paused. + </p> + <p> + “Have some tobacco,” said Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + Wallace accepted with a nod. + </p> + <p> + “Now, Harry, I have a proposal to make to you. It is this; you need thirty + thousand dollars to buy your land. Let me supply it, and come in as half + partner.” + </p> + <p> + An expression of doubt crossed the landlooker's face. + </p> + <p> + “Oh PLEASE!” cried the boy, “I do want to get in something real! It will + be the making of me!” + </p> + <p> + “Now see here,” interposed Thorpe suddenly, “you don't even know my name.” + </p> + <p> + “I know YOU,” replied the boy. + </p> + <p> + “My name is Harry Thorpe,” pursued the other. “My father was Henry Thorpe, + an embezzler.” + </p> + <p> + “Harry,” replied Wallace soberly, “I am sorry I made you say that. I do + not care for your name—except perhaps to put it in the articles of + partnership,—and I have no concern with your ancestry. I tell you it + is a favor to let me in on this deal. I don't know anything about + lumbering, but I've got eyes. I can see that big timber standing up thick + and tall, and I know people make profits in the business. It isn't a + question of the raw material surely, and you have experience.” + </p> + <p> + “Not so much as you think,” interposed Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “There remains,” went on Wallace without attention to Thorpe's remark, + “only the question of—” + </p> + <p> + “My honesty,” interjected Thorpe grimly. + </p> + <p> + “No!” cried the boy hotly, “of your letting me in on a good thing!” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe considered a few moments in silence. + </p> + <p> + “Wallace,” he said gravely at last, “I honestly do think that whoever goes + into this deal with me will make money. Of course there's always chances + against it. But I am going to do my best. I've seen other men fail at it, + and the reason they've failed is because they did not demand success of + others and of themselves. That's it; success! When a general commanding + troops receives a report on something he's ordered done, he does not + trouble himself with excuses;—he merely asks whether or not the + thing was accomplished. Difficulties don't count. It is a soldier's duty + to perform the impossible. Well, that's the way it ought to be with us. A + man has no right to come to me and say, 'I failed because such and such + things happened.' Either he should succeed in spite of it all; or he + should step up and take his medicine without whining. Well, I'm going to + succeed!” + </p> + <p> + The man's accustomed aloofness had gone. His eye flashed, his brow + frowned, the muscles of his cheeks contracted under his beard. In the + bronze light of evening he looked like a fire-breathing statue to that + great ruthless god he had himself invoked,—Success. + </p> + <p> + Wallace gazed at him with fascinated admiration. + </p> + <p> + “Then you will?” he asked tremulously. + </p> + <p> + “Wallace,” he replied again, “they'll say you have been the victim of an + adventurer, but the result will prove them wrong. If I weren't perfectly + sure of this, I wouldn't think of it, for I like you, and I know you want + to go into this more out of friendship for me and because your imagination + is touched, than from any business sense. But I'll accept, gladly. And + I'll do my best!” + </p> + <p> + “Hooray!” cried the boy, throwing his cap up in the air. “We'll do 'em up + in the first round!” + </p> + <p> + At last when Wallace Carpenter reluctantly quitted his friends on the + Ossawinamakee, he insisted on leaving with them a variety of the things he + had brought. + </p> + <p> + “I'm through with them,” said he. “Next time I come up here we'll have a + camp of our own, won't we, Harry? And I do feel that I am awfully in you + fellows' debt. You've given me the best time I have ever had in my life, + and you've refused payment for the moccasins and things you've made for + me. I'd feel much better if you'd accept them,—just as keepsakes.” + </p> + <p> + “All right, Wallace,” replied Thorpe, “and much obliged.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't forget to come straight to me when you get through estimating, now, + will you? Come to the house and stay. Our compact holds now, honest Injin; + doesn't it?” asked the boy anxiously. + </p> + <p> + “Honest Injin,” laughed Thorpe. “Good-by.” + </p> + <p> + The little canoe shot away down the current. The last Injin Charley and + Thorpe saw of the boy was as he turned the curve. His hat was off and + waving in his hand, his curls were blowing in the breeze, his eyes + sparkled with bright good-will, and his lips parted in a cheery halloo of + farewell. + </p> + <p> + “Him nice boy,” repeated Injin Charley, turning to his canoe. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XX + </h2> + <p> + Thus Thorpe and the Indian unexpectedly found themselves in the possession + of luxury. The outfit had not meant much to Wallace Carpenter, for he had + bought it in the city, where such things are abundant and excite no + remark; but to the woodsman each article possessed a separate and + particular value. The tent, an iron kettle, a side of bacon, oatmeal, tea, + matches, sugar, some canned goods, a box of hard-tack,—these, in the + woods, represented wealth. Wallace's rifle chambered the .38 Winchester + cartridge, which was unfortunate, for Thorpe's .44 had barely a + magazineful left. + </p> + <p> + The two men settled again into their customary ways of life. Things went + much as before, except that the flies and mosquitoes became thick. To men + as hardened as Thorpe and the Indian, these pests were not as formidable + as they would have been to anyone directly from the city, but they were + sufficiently annoying. Thorpe's old tin pail was pressed into service as a + smudge-kettle. Every evening about dusk, when the insects first began to + emerge from the dark swamps, Charley would build a tiny smoky fire in the + bottom of the pail, feeding it with peat, damp moss, punk maple, and other + inflammable smoky fuel. This censer swung twice or thrice about the tent, + effectually cleared it. Besides, both men early established on their + cheeks an invulnerable glaze of a decoction of pine tar, oil, and a + pungent herb. Towards the close of July, however, the insects began + sensibly to diminish, both in numbers and persistency. + </p> + <p> + Up to the present Thorpe had enjoyed a clear field. Now two men came down + from above and established a temporary camp in the woods half a mile below + the dam. Thorpe soon satisfied himself that they were picking out a route + for the logging road. Plenty which could be cut and travoyed directly to + the banking ground lay exactly along the bank of the stream; but every + logger possessed of a tract of timber tries each year to get in some that + is easy to handle and some that is difficult. Thus the average of expense + is maintained. + </p> + <p> + The two men, of course, did not bother themselves with the timber to be + travoyed, but gave their entire attention to that lying further back. + Thorpe was enabled thus to avoid them entirely. He simply transferred his + estimating to the forest by the stream. Once he met one of the men; but + was fortunately in a country that lent itself to his pose of hunter. The + other he did not see at all. + </p> + <p> + But one day he heard him. The two up-river men were following carefully + but noisily the bed of a little creek. Thorpe happened to be on the + side-hill, so he seated himself quietly until they should have moved on + down. One of the men shouted to the other, who, crashing through a + thicket, did not hear. “Ho-o-o! DYER!” the first repeated. “Here's that + infernal comer; over here!” + </p> + <p> + “Yop!” assented the other. “Coming!” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe recognized the voice instantly as that of Radway's scaler. His hand + crisped in a gesture of disgust. The man had always been obnoxious to him. + </p> + <p> + Two days later he stumbled on their camp. He paused in wonder at what he + saw. + </p> + <p> + The packs lay open, their contents scattered in every direction. The fire + had been hastily extinguished with a bucket of water, and a frying pan lay + where it had been overturned. If the thing had been possible, Thorpe would + have guessed at a hasty and unpremeditated flight. + </p> + <p> + He was about to withdraw carefully lest he be discovered, when he was + startled by a touch on his elbow. It was Injin Charley. + </p> + <p> + “Dey go up river,” he said. “I come see what de row.” + </p> + <p> + The Indian examined rapidly the condition of the little camp. + </p> + <p> + “Dey look for somethin',” said he, making his hand revolve as though + rummaging, and indicating the packs. + </p> + <p> + “I t'ink dey see you in de woods,” he concluded. “Dey go camp gettum boss. + Boss he gone on river trail two t'ree hour.” + </p> + <p> + “You're right, Charley,” replied Thorpe, who had been drawing his own + conclusions. “One of them knows me. They've been looking in their packs + for their note-books with the descriptions of these sections in them. Then + they piled out for the boss. If I know anything at all, the boss'll make + tracks for Detroit.” + </p> + <p> + “W'ot you do?” asked Injin Charley curiously. + </p> + <p> + “I got to get to Detroit before they do; that's all.” + </p> + <p> + Instantly the Indian became all action. + </p> + <p> + “You come,” he ordered, and set out at a rapid pace for camp. + </p> + <p> + There, with incredible deftness, he packed together about twelve pounds of + the jerked venison and a pair of blankets, thrust Thorpe's waterproof + match safe in his pocket, and turned eagerly to the young man. + </p> + <p> + “You come,” he repeated. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe hastily unearthed his “descriptions” and wrapped them up. The + Indian, in silence, rearranged the displaced articles in such a manner as + to relieve the camp of its abandoned air. + </p> + <p> + It was nearly sundown. Without a word the two men struck off into the + forest, the Indian in the lead. Their course was southeast, but Thorpe + asked no questions. He followed blindly. Soon he found that if he did even + that adequately, he would have little attention left for anything else. + The Indian walked with long, swift strides, his knees always slightly + bent, even at the finish of the step, his back hollowed, his shoulders and + head thrust forward. His gait had a queer sag in it, up and down in a long + curve from one rise to the other. After a time Thorpe became fascinated in + watching before him this easy, untiring lope, hour after hour, without the + variation of a second's fraction in speed nor an inch in length. It was as + though the Indian were made of steel springs. He never appeared to hurry; + but neither did he ever rest. + </p> + <p> + At first Thorpe followed him with comparative ease, but at the end of + three hours he was compelled to put forth decided efforts to keep pace. + His walking was no longer mechanical, but conscious. When it becomes so, a + man soon tires. Thorpe resented the inequalities, the stones, the roots, + the patches of soft ground which lay in his way. He felt dully that they + were not fair. He could negotiate the distance; but anything else was a + gratuitous insult. + </p> + <p> + Then suddenly he gained his second wind. He felt better and stronger and + moved freer. For second wind is only to a very small degree a question of + the breathing power. It is rather the response of the vital forces to a + will that refuses to heed their first grumbling protests. Like dogs by the + fire they do their utmost to convince their master that the limit of + freshness is reached; but at last, under the whip, spring to their work. + </p> + <p> + At midnight Injin Charley called a halt. He spread his blanket; leaned on + one elbow long enough to eat strip of dried meat, and fell asleep. Thorpe + imitated his example. Three hours later the Indian roused his companion, + and the two set out again. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe had walked a leisurely ten days through the woods far to the north. + In that journey he had encountered many difficulties. Sometimes he had + been tangled for hours at a time in a dense and almost impenetrable + thicket. Again he had spent a half day in crossing a treacherous swamp. Or + there had interposed in his trail abattises of down timber a quarter of a + mile wide over which it had been necessary to pick a precarious way eight + or ten feet from the ground. + </p> + <p> + This journey was in comparison easy. Most of the time the travellers + walked along high beech ridges or through the hardwood forests. + Occasionally they were forced to pass into the lowlands, but always little + saving spits of highland reaching out towards each other abridged the + necessary wallowing. Twice they swam rivers. + </p> + <p> + At first Thorpe thought this was because the country was more open; but as + he gave better attention to their route, he learned to ascribe it entirely + to the skill of his companion. The Indian seemed by a species of instinct + to select the most practicable routes. He seemed to know how the land + ought to lie, so that he was never deceived by appearances into entering a + cul de sac. His beech ridges always led to other beech ridges; his + hardwood never petered out into the terrible black swamps. Sometimes + Thorpe became sensible that they had commenced a long detour; but it was + never an abrupt detour, unforeseen and blind. + </p> + <p> + From three o'clock until eight they walked continually without a pause, + without an instant's breathing spell. Then they rested a half hour, ate a + little venison, and smoked a pipe. + </p> + <p> + An hour after noon they repeated the rest. Thorpe rose with a certain + physical reluctance. The Indian seemed as fresh—or as tired—as + when he started. At sunset they took an hour. Then forward again by the + dim intermittent light of the moon and stars through the ghostly haunted + forest, until Thorpe thought he would drop with weariness, and was + mentally incapable of contemplating more than a hundred steps in advance. + </p> + <p> + “When I get to that square patch of light, I'll quit,” he would say to + himself, and struggle painfully the required twenty rods. + </p> + <p> + “No, I won't quit here,” he would continue, “I'll make it that birch. Then + I'll lie down and die.” + </p> + <p> + And so on. To the actual physical exhaustion of Thorpe's muscles was added + that immense mental weariness which uncertainty of the time and distance + inflicts on a man. The journey might last a week, for all he knew. In the + presence of an emergency these men of action had actually not exchanged a + dozen words. The Indian led; Thorpe followed. + </p> + <p> + When the halt was called, Thorpe fell into his blanket too weary even to + eat. Next morning sharp, shooting pains, like the stabs of swords, ran + through his groin. + </p> + <p> + “You come,” repeated the Indian, stolid as ever. + </p> + <p> + When the sun was an hour high the travellers suddenly ran into a trail, + which as suddenly dived into a spruce thicket. On the other side of it + Thorpe unexpectedly found himself in an extensive clearing, dotted with + the blackened stumps of pines. Athwart the distance he could perceive the + wide blue horizon of Lake Michigan. He had crossed the Upper Peninsula on + foot! + </p> + <p> + “Boat come by to-day,” said Injin Charley, indicating the tall stacks of a + mill. “Him no stop. You mak' him stop take you with him. You get train + Mackinaw City tonight. Dose men, dey on dat train.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe calculated rapidly. The enemy would require, even with their teams, + a day to cover the thirty miles to the fishing village of Munising, whence + the stage ran each morning to Seney, the present terminal of the South + Shore Railroad. He, Thorpe, on foot and three hours behind, could never + have caught the stage. But from Seney only one train a day was despatched + to connect at Mackinaw City with the Michigan Central, and on that one + train, due to leave this very morning, the up-river man was just about + pulling out. He would arrive at Mackinaw City at four o'clock of the + afternoon, where he would be forced to wait until eight in the evening. By + catching a boat at the mill to which Injin Charley had led him, Thorpe + could still make the same train. Thus the start in the race for Detroit's + Land Office would be fair. + </p> + <p> + “All right,” he cried, all his energy returning to him. “Here goes! We'll + beat him out yet!” + </p> + <p> + “You come back?” inquired the Indian, peering with a certain anxiety into + his companion's eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Come back!” cried Thorpe. “You bet your hat!” + </p> + <p> + “I wait,” replied the Indian, and was gone. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Charley!” shouted Thorpe in surprise. “Come on and get a square meal, + anyway.” + </p> + <p> + But the Indian was already on his way back to the distant Ossawinamakee. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe hesitated in two minds whether to follow and attempt further + persuasion, for he felt keenly the interest the other had displayed. Then + he saw, over the headland to the east, a dense trail of black smoke. He + set off on a stumbling run towards the mill. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXI + </h2> + <p> + He arrived out of breath in a typical little mill town consisting of the + usual unpainted houses, the saloons, mill, office, and general store. To + the latter he addressed himself for information. + </p> + <p> + The proprietor, still sleepy, was mopping out the place. + </p> + <p> + “Does that boat stop here?” shouted Thorpe across the suds. + </p> + <p> + “Sometimes,” replied the man somnolently. + </p> + <p> + “Not always?” + </p> + <p> + “Only when there's freight for her.” + </p> + <p> + “Doesn't she stop for passengers?” + </p> + <p> + “Nope.” + </p> + <p> + “How does she know when there's freight?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, they signal her from the mill—” but Thorpe was gone. + </p> + <p> + At the mill Thorpe dove for the engine room. He knew that elsewhere the + clang of machinery and the hurry of business would leave scant attention + for him. And besides, from the engine room the signals would be given. He + found, as is often the case in north-country sawmills, a Scotchman in + charge. + </p> + <p> + “Does the boat stop here this morning?” he inquired. + </p> + <p> + “Weel,” replied the engineer with fearful deliberation, “I canna say. But + I hae received na orders to that effect.” + </p> + <p> + “Can't you whistle her in for me?” asked Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “I canna,” answered the engineer, promptly enough this time. + </p> + <p> + “Why not?” + </p> + <p> + “Ye're na what a body might call freight.” + </p> + <p> + “No other way out of it?” + </p> + <p> + “Na.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe was seized with an idea. + </p> + <p> + “Here!” he cried. “See that boulder over there? I want to ship that to + Mackinaw City by freight on this boat.” + </p> + <p> + The Scotchman's eyes twinkled appreciatively. + </p> + <p> + “I'm dootin' ye hae th' freight-bill from the office,” he objected simply. + </p> + <p> + “See here,” replied Thorpe, “I've just got to get that boat. It's worth + twenty dollars to me, and I'll square it with the captain. There's your + twenty.” + </p> + <p> + The Scotchman deliberated, looking aslant at the ground and thoughtfully + oiling a cylinder with a greasy rag. + </p> + <p> + “It'll na be a matter of life and death?” he asked hopefully. “She aye + stops for life and death.” + </p> + <p> + “No,” replied Thorpe reluctantly. Then with an explosion, “Yes, by God, it + is! If I don't make that boat, I'll kill YOU.” + </p> + <p> + The Scotchman chuckled and pocketed the money. “I'm dootin' that's in + order,” he replied. “I'll no be party to any such proceedin's. I'm goin' + noo for a fresh pail of watter,” he remarked, pausing at the door, “but as + a wee item of information: yander's th' wheestle rope; and a mon wheestles + one short and one long for th' boat.” + </p> + <p> + He disappeared. Thorpe seized the cord and gave the signal. Then he ran + hastily to the end of the long lumber docks, and peered with great + eagerness in the direction of the black smoke. + </p> + <p> + The steamer was as yet concealed behind a low spit of land which ran out + from the west to form one side of the harbor. In a moment, however, her + bows appeared, headed directly down towards the Straits of Mackinaw. When + opposite the little bay Thorpe confidently looked to see her turn in, but + to his consternation she held her course. He began to doubt whether his + signal had been heard. Fresh black smoke poured from the funnel; the craft + seemed to gather speed as she approached the eastern point. Thorpe saw his + hopes sailing away. He wanted to stand up absurdly and wave his arms to + attract attention at that impossible distance. He wanted to sink to the + planks in apathy. Finally he sat down, and with dull eyes watched the + distance widen between himself and his aims. + </p> + <p> + And then with a grand free sweep she turned and headed directly for him. + </p> + <p> + Other men might have wept or shouted. Thorpe merely became himself, + imperturbable, commanding, apparently cold. He negotiated briefly with the + captain, paid twenty dollars more for speed and the privilege of landing + at Mackinaw City. Then he slept for eight hours on end and was awakened in + time to drop into a small boat which deposited him on the broad sand beach + of the lower peninsula. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXII + </h2> + <p> + The train was just leisurely making up for departure. Thorpe, dressed as + he was in old “pepper and salt” garments patched with buckskin, his hat a + flopping travesty on headgear, his moccasins, worn and dirty, his face + bearded and bronzed, tried as much as possible to avoid attention. He sent + an instant telegram to Wallace Carpenter conceived as follows: + </p> + <p> + “Wire thirty thousand my order care Land Office, Detroit, before nine + o'clock to-morrow morning. Do it if you have to rustle all night. + Important.” + </p> + <p> + Then he took a seat in the baggage car on a pile of boxes and + philosophically waited for the train to start. He knew that sooner or + later the man, provided he were on the train, would stroll through the + car, and he wanted to be out of the way. The baggage man proved friendly, + so Thorpe chatted with him until after bedtime. Then he entered the + smoking car and waited patiently for morning. + </p> + <p> + So far the affair had gone very well. It had depended on personal + exertions, and he had made it go. Now he was forced to rely on outward + circumstances. He argued that the up-river man would have first to make + his financial arrangements before he could buy in the land, and this would + give the landlooker a chance to get in ahead at the office. There would + probably be no difficulty about that. The man suspected nothing. But + Thorpe had to confess himself fearfully uneasy about his own financial + arrangements. That was the rub. Wallace Carpenter had been sincere enough + in his informal striking of partnership, but had he retained his + enthusiasm? Had second thought convicted him of folly? Had conservative + business friends dissuaded him? Had the glow faded in the reality of his + accustomed life? And even if his good-will remained unimpaired, would he + be able, at such short notice, to raise so large a sum? Would he realize + from Thorpe's telegram the absolute necessity of haste? + </p> + <p> + At the last thought, Thorpe decided to send a second message from the next + station. He did so. It read: “Another buyer of timber on same train with + me. Must have money at nine o'clock or lose land.” He paid day rates on it + to insure immediate delivery. Suppose the boy should be away from home! + </p> + <p> + Everything depended on Wallace Carpenter; and Thorpe could not but confess + the chance slender. One other thought made the night seem long. Thorpe had + but thirty dollars left. + </p> + <p> + Morning came at last, and the train drew in and stopped. Thorpe, being in + the smoking car, dropped off first and stationed himself near the exit + where he could look over the passengers without being seen. They filed + past. Two only he could accord the role of master lumbermen—the rest + were plainly drummers or hayseeds. And in these two Thorpe recognized Daly + and Morrison themselves. They passed within ten feet of him, talking + earnestly together. At the curb they hailed a cab and drove away. Thorpe + with satisfaction heard them call the name of a hotel. + </p> + <p> + It was still two hours before the Land Office would be open. Thorpe ate + breakfast at the depot and wandered slowly up Jefferson Avenue to + Woodward, a strange piece of our country's medievalism in modern + surroundings. He was so occupied with his own thoughts that for some time + he remained unconscious of the attention he was attracting. Then, with a + start, he felt that everyone was staring at him. The hour was early, so + that few besides the working classes were abroad, but he passed one lady + driving leisurely to an early train whose frank scrutiny brought him to + himself. He became conscious that his broad hat was weather-soiled and + limp, that his flannel shirt was faded, that his “pepper and salt” + trousers were patched, that moccasins must seem as anachronistic as chain + mail. It abashed him. He could not know that it was all wild and + picturesque, that his straight and muscular figure moved with a grace + quite its own and the woods', that the bronze of his skin contrasted + splendidly with the clearness of his eye, that his whole bearing expressed + the serene power that comes only from the confidence of battle. The woman + in the carriage saw it, however. + </p> + <p> + “He is magnificent!” she cried. “I thought such men had died with Cooper!” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe whirled sharp on his heel and returned at once to a boarding-house + off Fort Street, where he had “outfitted” three months before. There he + reclaimed his valise, shaved, clothed himself in linen and cheviot once + more, and sauntered slowly over to the Land Office to await its opening. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXIII + </h2> + <p> + At nine o'clock neither of the partners had appeared. Thorpe entered the + office and approached the desk. + </p> + <p> + “Is there a telegram here for Harry Thorpe?” he inquired. + </p> + <p> + The clerk to whom he addressed himself merely motioned with his head + toward a young fellow behind the railing in a corner. The latter, without + awaiting the question, shifted comfortably and replied: + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + At the same instant steps were heard in the corridor, the door opened, and + Mr. Morrison appeared on the sill. Then Thorpe showed the stuff of which + he was made. + </p> + <p> + “Is this the desk for buying Government lands?” he asked hurriedly. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” replied the clerk. + </p> + <p> + “I have some descriptions I wish to buy in.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” replied the clerk, “what township?” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe detailed the figures, which he knew by heart, the clerk took from a + cabinet the three books containing them, and spread them out on the + counter. At this moment the bland voice of Mr. Morrison made itself heard + at Thorpe's elbow. + </p> + <p> + “Good morning, Mr. Smithers,” it said with the deliberation of the + consciously great man. “I have a few descriptions I would like to buy in + the northern peninsula.” + </p> + <p> + “Good morning, Mr. Morrison. Archie there will attend to you. Archie, see + what Mr. Morrison wishes.” + </p> + <p> + The lumberman and the other clerk consulted in a low voice, after which + the official turned to fumble among the records. Not finding what he + wanted, he approached Smithers. A whispered consultation ensued between + these two. Then Smithers called: + </p> + <p> + “Take a seat, Mr. Morrison. This gentleman is looking over these + townships, and will have finished in a few minutes.” + </p> + <p> + Morrison's eye suddenly became uneasy. + </p> + <p> + “I am somewhat busy this morning,” he objected with a shade of command in + his voice. + </p> + <p> + “If this gentleman—?” suggested the clerk delicately. + </p> + <p> + “I am sorry,” put in Thorpe with brevity, “my time, too, is valuable.” + </p> + <p> + Morrison looked at him sharply. + </p> + <p> + “My deal is a big one,” he snapped. “I can probably arrange with this + gentleman to let him have his farm.” + </p> + <p> + “I claim precedence,” replied Thorpe calmly. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Morrison swift as light, “I'll tell you, Smithers. I'll leave + my list of descriptions and a check with you. Give me a receipt, and mark + my lands off after you've finished with this gentleman.” + </p> + <p> + Now Government and State lands are the property of the man who pays for + them. Although the clerk's receipt might not give Morrison a valid claim; + nevertheless it would afford basis for a lawsuit. Thorpe saw the trap, and + interposed. + </p> + <p> + “Hold on,” he interrupted, “I claim precedence. You can give no receipt + for any land in these townships until after my business is transacted. I + have reason to believe that this gentleman and myself are both after the + same descriptions.” + </p> + <p> + “What!” shouted Morrison, assuming surprise. + </p> + <p> + “You will have to await your turn, Mr. Morrison,” said the clerk, virtuous + before so many witnesses. + </p> + <p> + The business man was in a white rage of excitement. + </p> + <p> + “I insist on my application being filed at once!” he cried waving his + check. “I have the money right here to pay for every acre of it; and if I + know the law, the first man to pay takes the land.” + </p> + <p> + He slapped the check down on the rail, and hit it a number of times with + the flat of his hand. Thorpe turned and faced him with a steel look in his + level eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Morrison,” he said, “you are quite right. The first man who pays gets + the land; but I have won the first chance to pay. You will kindly step one + side until I finish my business with Mr. Smithers here.” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose you have the amount actually with you,” said the clerk, quite + respectfully, “because if you have not, Mr. Morrison's claim will take + precedence.” + </p> + <p> + “I would hardly have any business in a land office, if I did not know + that,” replied Thorpe, and began his dictation of the description as + calmly as though his inside pocket contained the required amount in bank + bills. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe's hopes had sunk to zero. After all, looking at the matter + dispassionately, why should he expect Carpenter to trust him, a stranger, + with so large a sum? It had been madness. Only the blind confidence of the + fighting man led him further into the struggle. Another would have given + up, would have stepped aside from the path of this bona-fide purchaser + with the money in his hand. + </p> + <p> + But Thorpe was of the kind that hangs on until the last possible second, + not so much in the expectation of winning, as in sheer reluctance to + yield. Such men shoot their last cartridge before surrendering, swim the + last ounce of strength from their arms before throwing them up to sink, + search coolly until the latest moment for a way from the burning building,—and + sometimes come face to face with miracles. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe's descriptions were contained in the battered little note-book he + had carried with him in the woods. For each piece of land first there came + the township described by latitude and east-and-west range. After this + generic description followed another figure representing the section of + that particular district. So 49—17 W—8, meant section 8, of + the township on range 49 north, 17 west. If Thorpe wished to purchase the + whole section, that description would suffice. On the other hand, if he + wished to buy only one forty, he described its position in the + quarter-section. Thus SW—NW 49—17—8, meant the southwest + forty of the northwest quarter of section 8 in the township already + described. + </p> + <p> + The clerk marked across each square of his map as Thorpe read them, the + date and the purchaser's name. + </p> + <p> + In his note-book Thorpe had, of course, entered the briefest description + possible. Now, in dictating to the clerk, he conceived the idea of + specifying each subdivision. This gained some time. Instead of saying + simply, “Northwest quarter of section 8,” he made of it four separate + descriptions, as follows:—Northwest quarter of northwest quarter; + northeast of northwest quarter; southwest of northwest quarter; and + southeast of northwest quarter. + </p> + <p> + He was not so foolish as to read the descriptions in succession, but so + scattered them that the clerk, putting down the figures mechanically, had + no idea of the amount of unnecessary work he was doing. The minute hands + of the clock dragged around. Thorpe droned down the long column. The clerk + scratched industriously, repeating in a half voice each description as it + was transcribed. + </p> + <p> + At length the task was finished. It became necessary to type duplicate + lists of the descriptions. While the somnolent youth finished this task, + Thorpe listened for the messenger boy on the stairs. + </p> + <p> + A faint slam was heard outside the rickety old building. Hasty steps + sounded along the corridor. The landlooker merely stopped the drumming of + his fingers on the broad arm of the chair. The door flew open, and Wallace + Carpenter walked quickly to him. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe's face lighted up as he rose to greet his partner. The boy had not + forgotten their compact after all. + </p> + <p> + “Then it's all right?” queried the latter breathlessly. + </p> + <p> + “Sure,” answered Thorpe heartily, “got 'em in good shape.” + </p> + <p> + At the same time he was drawing the youth beyond the vigilant watchfulness + of Mr. Morrison. + </p> + <p> + “You're just in time,” he said in an undertone. “Never had so close a + squeak. I suppose you have cash or a certified check: that's all they'll + take here.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean?” asked Carpenter blankly. + </p> + <p> + “Haven't you that money?” returned Thorpe quick as a hawk. + </p> + <p> + “For Heaven's sake, isn't it here?” cried Wallace in consternation. “I + wired Duncan, my banker, here last night, and received a reply from him. + He answered that he'd see to it. Haven't you seen him?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” repeated Thorpe in his turn. + </p> + <p> + “What can we do?” + </p> + <p> + “Can you get your check certified here near at hand?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, go do it. And get a move on you. You have precisely until that boy + there finishes clicking that machine. Not a second longer.” + </p> + <p> + “Can't you get them to wait a few minutes?” + </p> + <p> + “Wallace,” said Thorpe, “do you see that white whiskered old lynx in the + corner? That's Morrison, the man who wants to get our land. If I fail to + plank down the cash the very instant it is demanded, he gets his chance. + And he'll take it. Now, go. Don't hurry until you get beyond the door: + then FLY!” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe sat down again in his broad-armed chair and resumed his drumming. + The nearest bank was six blocks away. He counted over in his mind the + steps of Carpenter's progress; now to the door, now in the next block, now + so far beyond. He had just escorted him to the door of the bank, when the + clerk's voice broke in on him. + </p> + <p> + “Now,” Smithers was saying, “I'll give you a receipt for the amount, and + later will send to your address the title deeds of the descriptions.” + </p> + <p> + Carpenter had yet to find the proper official, to identify himself, to + certify the check, and to return. It was hopeless. Thorpe dropped his + hands in surrender. + </p> + <p> + Then he saw the boy lay the two typed lists before his principal, and + dimly he perceived that the youth, shamefacedly, was holding something + bulky toward himself. + </p> + <p> + “Wh—what is it?” he stammered, drawing his hand back as though from + a red-hot iron. + </p> + <p> + “You asked me for a telegram,” said the boy stubbornly, as though trying + to excuse himself, “and I didn't just catch the name, anyway. When I saw + it on those lists I had to copy, I thought of this here.” + </p> + <p> + “Where'd you get it?” asked Thorpe breathlessly. + </p> + <p> + “A fellow came here early and left it for you while I was sweeping out,” + explained the boy. “Said he had to catch a train. It's yours all right, + ain't it?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes,” replied Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + He took the envelope and walked uncertainly to the tall window. He looked + out at the chimneys. After a moment he tore open the envelope. + </p> + <p> + “I hope there's no bad news, sir?” said the clerk, startled at the + paleness of the face Thorpe turned to the desk. + </p> + <p> + “No,” replied the landlooker. “Give me a receipt. There's a certified + check for your money!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXIV + </h2> + <p> + Now that the strain was over, Thorpe experienced a great weariness. The + long journey through the forest, his sleepless night on the train, the + mental alertness of playing the game with shrewd foes all these stretched + his fibers out one by one and left them limp. He accepted stupidly the + clerk's congratulations on his success, left the name of the little hotel + off Fort Street as the address to which to send the deeds, and dragged + himself off with infinite fatigue to his bed-room. There he fell at once + into profound unconsciousness. + </p> + <p> + He was awakened late in the afternoon by the sensation of a strong pair of + young arms around his shoulders, and the sound of Wallace Carpenter's + fresh voice crying in his ears: + </p> + <p> + “Wake up, wake up! you Indian! You've been asleep all day, and I've been + waiting here all that time. I want to hear about it. Wake up, I say!” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe rolled to a sitting posture on the edge of the bed, and smiled + uncertainly. Then as the sleep drained from his brain, he reached out his + hand. + </p> + <p> + “You bet we did 'em, Wallace,” said he, “but it looked like a hard + proposition for a while.” + </p> + <p> + “How was it? Tell me about it!” insisted the boy eagerly. “You don't know + how impatient I've been. The clerk at the Land Office merely told me it + was all right. How did you fix it?” + </p> + <p> + While Thorpe washed and shaved and leisurely freshened himself, he + detailed his experiences of the last week. + </p> + <p> + “And,” he concluded gravely, “there's only one man I know or ever heard of + to whom I would have considered it worth while even to think of sending + that telegram, and you are he. Somehow I knew you'd come to the scratch.” + </p> + <p> + “It's the most exciting thing I ever heard of,” sighed Wallace drawing a + full breath, “and I wasn't in it! It's the sort of thing I long for. If + I'd only waited another two weeks before coming down!” + </p> + <p> + “In that case we couldn't have gotten hold of the money, remember,” smiled + Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “That's so.” Wallace brightened. “I did count, didn't I?” + </p> + <p> + “I thought so about ten o'clock this morning,” Thorpe replied. + </p> + <p> + “Suppose you hadn't stumbled on their camp; suppose Injin Charley hadn't + seen them go up-river; suppose you hadn't struck that little mill town + JUST at the time you did!” marvelled Wallace. + </p> + <p> + “That's always the way,” philosophized Thorpe in reply. “It's the old + story of 'if the horse-shoe nail hadn't been lost,' you know. But we got + there; and that's the important thing.” + </p> + <p> + “We did!” cried the boy, his enthusiasm rekindling, “and to-night we'll + celebrate with the best dinner we ran buy in town!” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe was tempted, but remembered the thirty dollars in his pocket, and + looked doubtful. + </p> + <p> + Carpenter possessed, as part of his volatile enthusiastic temperament, + keen intuitions. + </p> + <p> + “Don't refuse!” he begged. “I've set my heart on giving my senior partner + a dinner. Surely you won't refuse to be my guest here, as I was yours in + the woods!” + </p> + <p> + “Wallace,” said Thorpe, “I'll go you. I'd like to dine with you; but + moreover, I'll confess, I should like to eat a good dinner again. It's + been more than a year since I've seen a salad, or heard of after-dinner + coffee.” + </p> + <p> + “Come on then,” cried Wallace. + </p> + <p> + Together they sauntered through the lengthening shadows to a certain small + restaurant near Woodward Avenue, then much in vogue among Detroit's + epicures. It contained only a half dozen tables, but was spotlessly clean, + and its cuisine was unrivalled. A large fireplace near the center of the + room robbed it of half its restaurant air; and a thick carpet on the floor + took the rest. The walls were decorated in dark colors after the German + style. Several easy chairs grouped before the fireplace, and a light + wicker table heaped with magazines and papers invited the guests to lounge + while their orders were being prepared. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe was not in the least Sybaritic in his tastes, but he could not + stifle a sigh of satisfaction at sinking so naturally into the unobtrusive + little comforts which the ornamental life offers to its votaries. They + rose up around him and pillowed him, and were grateful to the tired fibers + of his being. His remoter past had enjoyed these things as a matter of + course. They had framed the background to his daily habit. Now that the + background had again slid into place on noiseless grooves, Thorpe for the + first time became conscious that his strenuous life had indeed been in the + open air, and that the winds of earnest endeavor, while bracing, had + chilled. Wallace Carpenter, with the poet's insight and sympathy, saw and + understood this feeling. + </p> + <p> + “I want you to order this dinner,” said he, handing over to Thorpe the + card which an impossibly correct waiter presented him. “And I want it a + good one. I want you to begin at the beginning and skip nothing. Pretend + you are ordering just the dinner you would like to offer your sister,” he + suggested on a sudden inspiration. “I assure you I'll try to be just as + critical and exigent as she would be.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe took up the card dreamily. + </p> + <p> + “There are no oysters and clams now,” said he, “so we'll pass right on to + the soup. It seems to me a desecration to pretend to replace them. We'll + have a bisque,” he told the waiter, “rich and creamy. Then planked + whitefish, and have them just a light crisp, brown. You can bring some + celery, too, if you have it fresh and good. And for entree tell your cook + to make some macaroni au gratin, but the inside must be soft and very + creamy, and the outside very crisp. I know it's a queer dish for a formal + dinner like ours,” he addressed Wallace with a little laugh, “but it's + very, very good. We'll have roast beef, rare and juicy;—if you bring + it any way but a cooked red, I'll send it back;—and potatoes roasted + with the meat and brown gravy. Then the breast of chicken with the salad, + in the French fashion. And I'll make the dressing. We'll have an ice and + some fruit for dessert. Black coffee.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir,” replied the waiter, his pencil poised. “And the wines?” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe ruminated sleepily. + </p> + <p> + “A rich red Burgundy,” he decided, “for all the dinner. If your cellar + contains a very good smooth Beaune, we'll have that.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir,” answered the waiter, and departed. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe sat and gazed moodily into the wood fire, Wallace respected his + silence. It was yet too early for the fashionable world, so the two + friends had the place to themselves. Gradually the twilight fell; strange + shadows leaped and died on the wall. A boy dressed all in white turned on + the lights. By and by the waiter announced that their repast awaited them. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe ate, his eyes half closed, in somnolent satisfaction. Occasionally + he smiled contentedly across at Wallace, who smiled in response. After the + coffee he had the waiter bring cigars. They went back between the tables + to a little upholstered smoking room, where they sank into the depths of + leather chairs, and blew the gray clouds of smoke towards the ceiling. + About nine o'clock Thorpe spoke the first word. + </p> + <p> + “I'm stupid this evening, I'm afraid,” said he, shaking himself. “Don't + think on that account I am not enjoying your dinner. I believe,” he + asserted earnestly, “that I never had such an altogether comfortable, + happy evening before in my life.” + </p> + <p> + “I know,” replied Wallace sympathetically. + </p> + <p> + “It seems just now,” went on Thorpe, sinking more luxuriously into his + armchair, “that this alone is living—to exist in an environment + exquisitely toned; to eat, to drink, to smoke the best, not like a + gormand, but delicately as an artist would. It is the flower of our + civilization.” + </p> + <p> + Wallace remembered the turmoil of the wilderness brook; the little birch + knoll, yellow in the evening glow; the mellow voice of the summer night + crooning through the pines. But he had the rare tact to say nothing. + </p> + <p> + “Did it ever occur to you that what you needed, when sort of tired out + this way,” he said abruptly after a moment, “is a woman to understand and + sympathize? Wouldn't it have made this evening perfect to have seen + opposite you a being whom you loved, who understood your moments of + weariness, as well as your moments of strength?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” replied Thorpe, stretching his arms over his head, “a woman would + have talked. It takes a friend and a man, to know when to keep silent for + three straight hours.” + </p> + <p> + The waiter brought the bill on a tray, and Carpenter paid it. + </p> + <p> + “Wallace,” said Thorpe suddenly after a long interval, “we'll borrow + enough by mortgaging our land to supply the working expenses. I suppose + capital will have to investigate, and that'll take time; but I can begin + to pick up a crew and make arrangements for transportation and supplies. + You can let me have a thousand dollars on the new Company's note for + initial expenses. We'll draw up articles of partnership to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXV + </h2> + <p> + Next day the articles of partnership were drawn; and Carpenter gave his + note for the necessary expenses. Then in answer to a pencilled card which + Mr. Morrison had evidently left at Thorpe's hotel in person, both young + men called at the lumberman's place of business. They were ushered + immediately into the private office. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Morrison was a smart little man with an ingratiating manner and a + fishy eye. He greeted Thorpe with marked geniality. + </p> + <p> + “My opponent of yesterday!” he cried jocularly. “Sit down, Mr. Thorpe! + Although you did me out of some land I had made every preparation to + purchase, I can't but admire your grit and resourcefulness. How did you + get here ahead of us?” + </p> + <p> + “I walked across the upper peninsula, and caught a boat,” replied Thorpe + briefly. + </p> + <p> + “Indeed, INDEED!” replied Mr. Morrison, placing the tips of his fingers + together. “Extraordinary! Well, Mr. Thorpe, you overreached us nicely; and + I suppose we must pay for our carelessness. We must have that pine, even + though we pay stumpage on it. Now what would you consider a fair price for + it?” + </p> + <p> + “It is not for sale,” answered Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “We'll waive all that. Of course it is to your interest to make + difficulties and run the price up as high as you can. But my time is + somewhat occupied just at present, so I would be very glad to hear your + top price—we will come to an agreement afterwards.” + </p> + <p> + “You do not understand me, Mr. Morrison. I told you the pine is not for + sale, and I mean it.” + </p> + <p> + “But surely—What did you buy it for, then?” cried Mr. Morrison, with + evidences of a growing excitement. + </p> + <p> + “We intend to manufacture it.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Morrison's fishy eyes nearly popped out of his head. He controlled + himself with an effort. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Thorpe,” said he, “let us try to be reasonable. Our case stands this + way. We have gone to a great deal of expense on the Ossawinamakee in + expectation of undertaking very extensive operations there. To that end we + have cleared the stream, built three dams, and have laid the foundations + of a harbor and boom. This has been very expensive. Now your purchase + includes most of what we had meant to log. You have, roughly speaking, + about three hundred millions in your holding, in addition to which there + are several millions scattering near it, which would pay nobody but + yourself to get in. Our holdings are further up stream, and comprise only + about the equal of yours.” + </p> + <p> + “Three hundred millions are not to be sneezed at,” replied Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “Certainly not,” agreed Morrison, suavely, gaining confidence from the + sound of his own voice. “Not in this country. But you must remember that a + man goes into the northern peninsula only because he can get something + better there than here. When the firm of Morrison & Daly establishes + itself now, it must be for the last time. We want enough timber to do us + for the rest of the time we are in business.” + </p> + <p> + “In that case, you will have to hunt up another locality,” replied Thorpe + calmly. + </p> + <p> + Morrison's eyes flashed. But he retained his appearance of geniality, and + appealed to Wallace Carpenter. + </p> + <p> + “Then you will retain the advantage of our dams and improvements,” said + he. “Is that fair?” + </p> + <p> + “No, not on the face of it,” admitted Thorpe. “But you did your work in a + navigable stream for private purposes, without the consent of the Board of + Control. Your presence on the river is illegal. You should have taken out + a charter as an Improvement Company. Then as long as you 'tended to + business and kept the concern in repair, we'd have paid you a toll per + thousand feet. As soon as you let it slide, however, the works would + revert to the State. I won't hinder your doing that yet; although I might. + Take out your charter and fix your rate of toll.” + </p> + <p> + “In other words, you force us to stay there and run a little two-by-four + Improvement Company for your benefit, or else lose the value of our + improvements?” + </p> + <p> + “Suit yourself,” answered Thorpe carelessly. “You can always log your + present holdings.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” cried Morrison, so suddenly in a passion that Wallace started + back. “It's war! And let me tell you this, young man; you're a new concern + and we're an old one. We'll crush you like THAT!” He crisped an envelope + vindictively, and threw it in the waste-basket. + </p> + <p> + “Crush ahead,” replied Thorpe with great good humor. “Good-day, Mr. + Morrison,” and the two went out. + </p> + <p> + Wallace was sputtering and trembling with nervous excitement. His was one + of those temperaments which require action to relieve the stress of a + stormy interview. He was brave enough, but he would always tremble in the + presence of danger until the moment for striking arrived. He wanted to do + something at once. + </p> + <p> + “Hadn't we better see a lawyer?” he asked. “Oughtn't we to look out that + they don't take some of our pine? Oughtn't we—” + </p> + <p> + “You just leave all that to me,” replied Thorpe. “The first thing we want + to do is to rustle some money.” + </p> + <p> + “And you can leave THAT to ME,” echoed Wallace. “I know a little of such + things, and I have business connections who know more. You just get the + camp running.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll start for Bay City to-night,” submitted Thorpe. “There ought to be a + good lot of lumber-jacks lying around idle at this time of year; and it's + a good place to outfit from because we can probably get freight rates + direct by boat. We'll be a little late in starting, but we'll get in SOME + logs this winter, anyway.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART3" id="link2H_PART3"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PART III. THE BLAZING OF THE TRAIL + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXVI + </h2> + <p> + A lumbering town after the drive is a fearful thing. Men just off the + river draw a deep breath, and plunge into the wildest reactionary + dissipation. In droves they invade the cities,—wild, picturesque, + lawless. As long as the money lasts, they blow it in. + </p> + <p> + “Hot money!” is the cry. “She's burnt holes in all my pockets already!” + </p> + <p> + The saloons are full, the gambling houses overflow, all the places of + amusement or crime run full blast. A chip rests lightly on everyone's + shoulder. Fights are as common as raspberries in August. Often one of + these formidable men, his muscles toughened and quickened by the active, + strenuous river work, will set out to “take the town apart.” For a time he + leaves rack and ruin, black eyes and broken teeth behind him, until he + meets a more redoubtable “knocker” and is pounded and kicked into + unconsciousness. Organized gangs go from house to house forcing the + peaceful inmates to drink from their bottles. Others take possession of + certain sections of the street and resist “a l'outrance” the attempts of + others to pass. Inoffensive citizens are stood on their heads, or shaken + upside down until the contents of their pockets rattle on the street. + Parenthetically, these contents are invariably returned to their owners. + The riverman's object is fun, not robbery. + </p> + <p> + And if rip-roaring, swashbuckling, drunken glory is what he is after, he + gets it. The only trouble is, that a whole winter's hard work goes in two + or three weeks. The only redeeming feature is, that he is never, in or out + of his cups, afraid of anything that walks the earth. + </p> + <p> + A man comes out of the woods or off the drive with two or three hundred + dollars, which he is only too anxious to throw away by the double handful. + It follows naturally that a crew of sharpers are on hand to find out who + gets it. They are a hard lot. Bold, unprincipled men, they too are afraid + of nothing; not even a drunken lumber-jack, which is one of the dangerous + wild animals of the American fauna. Their business is to relieve the man + of his money as soon as possible. They are experts at their business. + </p> + <p> + The towns of Bay City and Saginaw alone in 1878 supported over fourteen + hundred tough characters. Block after block was devoted entirely to + saloons. In a radius of three hundred feet from the famous old Catacombs + could be numbered forty saloons, where drinks were sold by from three to + ten “pretty waiter girls.” When the boys struck town, the proprietors and + waitresses stood in their doorways to welcome them. + </p> + <p> + “Why, Jack!” one would cry, “when did you drift in? Tickled to death to + see you! Come in an' have a drink. That your chum? Come in, old man, and + have a drink. Never mind the pay; that's all right.” + </p> + <p> + And after the first drink, Jack, of course, had to treat, and then the + chum. + </p> + <p> + Or if Jack resisted temptation and walked resolutely on, one of the girls + would remark audibly to another. + </p> + <p> + “He ain't no lumber-jack! You can see that easy 'nuff! He's jest off th' + hay-trail!” + </p> + <p> + Ten to one that brought him, for the woodsman is above all things proud + and jealous of his craft. + </p> + <p> + In the center of this whirlpool of iniquity stood the Catacombs as the hub + from which lesser spokes in the wheel radiated. Any old logger of the + Saginaw Valley can tell you of the Catacombs, just as any old logger of + any other valley will tell you of the “Pen,” the “White Row,” the “Water + Streets” of Alpena, Port Huron, Ludington, Muskegon, and a dozen other + lumber towns. + </p> + <p> + The Catacombs was a three-story building. In the basement were vile, + ill-smelling, ill-lighted dens, small, isolated, dangerous. The shanty boy + with a small stake, far gone in drunkenness, there tasted the last drop of + wickedness, and thence was flung unconscious and penniless on the streets. + A trap-door directly into the river accommodated those who were + inconsiderate enough to succumb under rough treatment. + </p> + <p> + The second story was given over to drinking. Polly Dickson there reigned + supreme, an anomaly. She was as pretty and fresh and pure-looking as a + child; and at the same time was one of the most ruthless and unscrupulous + of the gang. She could at will exercise a fascination the more terrible in + that it appealed at once to her victim's nobler instincts of reverence, + his capacity for what might be called aesthetic fascination, as well as + his passions. When she finally held him, she crushed him as calmly as she + would a fly. + </p> + <p> + Four bars supplied the drinkables. Dozens of “pretty waiter girls” served + the customers. A force of professional fighters was maintained by the + establishment to preserve that degree of peace which should look to the + preservation of mirrors and glassware. + </p> + <p> + The third story contained a dance hall and a theater. The character of + both would better be left to the imagination. + </p> + <p> + Night after night during the season, this den ran at top-steam. + </p> + <p> + By midnight, when the orgy was at its height, the windows brilliantly + illuminated, the various bursts of music, laughing, cursing, singing, + shouting, fighting, breaking in turn or all together from its open + windows, it was, as Jackson Hines once expressed it to me, like hell let + out for noon. + </p> + <p> + The respectable elements of the towns were powerless. They could not + control the elections. Their police would only have risked total + annihilation by attempting a raid. At the first sign of trouble they + walked straightly in the paths of their own affairs, awaiting the time + soon to come when, his stake “blown-in,” the last bitter dregs of his + pleasure gulped down, the shanty boy would again start for the woods. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXVII + </h2> + <p> + Now in August, however, the first turmoil had died. The “jam” had boiled + into town, “taken it apart,” and left the inhabitants to piece it together + again as they could; the “rear” had not yet arrived. As a consequence, + Thorpe found the city comparatively quiet. + </p> + <p> + Here and there swaggered a strapping riverman, his small felt hat cocked + aggressively over one eye, its brim curled up behind; a cigar stump + protruding at an angle from beneath his sweeping moustache; his hands + thrust into the pockets of his trousers, “stagged” off at the knee; the + spikes of his river boots cutting little triangular pieces from the wooden + sidewalk. His eye was aggressively humorous, and the smile of his face was + a challenge. + </p> + <p> + For in the last month he had faced almost certain death a dozen times a + day. He had ridden logs down the rapids where a loss of balance meant in + one instant a ducking and in the next a blow on the back from some + following battering-ram; he had tugged and strained and jerked with his + peavey under a sheer wall of tangled timber twenty feet high,—behind + which pressed the full power of the freshet,—only to jump with the + agility of a cat from one bit of unstable footing to another when the + first sharp CRACK warned him that he had done his work, and that the whole + mass was about to break down on him like a wave on the shore; he had + worked fourteen hours a day in ice-water, and had slept damp; he had pried + at the key log in the rollways on the bank until the whole pile had begun + to rattle down into the river like a cascade, and had jumped, or ridden, + or even dived out of danger at the last second. In a hundred passes he had + juggled with death as a child plays with a rubber balloon. No wonder that + he has brought to the town and his vices a little of the lofty bearing of + an heroic age. No wonder that he fears no man, since nature's most + terrible forces of the flood have hurled a thousand weapons at him in + vain. His muscles have been hardened, his eye is quiet and sure, his + courage is undaunted, and his movements are as quick and accurate as a + panther's. Probably nowhere in the world is a more dangerous man of his + hands than the riverman. He would rather fight than eat, especially when + he is drunk, as, like the cow-boy, he usually is when he gets into town. A + history could be written of the feuds, the wars, the raids instituted by + one camp or one town against another. + </p> + <p> + The men would go in force sometimes to another city with the avowed + purpose of cleaning it out. One battle I know of lasted nearly all night. + Deadly weapons were almost never resorted to, unless indeed a hundred and + eighty pounds of muscle behind a fist hard as iron might be considered a + deadly weapon. A man hard pressed by numbers often resorted to a billiard + cue, or an ax, or anything else that happened to be handy, but that was an + expedient called out by necessity. Knives or six-shooters implied a + certain premeditation which was discountenanced. + </p> + <p> + On the other hand, the code of fair fighting obtained hardly at all. The + long spikes of river-boots made an admirable weapon in the straight kick. + I have seen men whose faces were punctured as thickly as though by + small-pox, where the steel points had penetrated. In a free-for-all + knock-down-and-drag-out, kicking, gouging, and biting are all legitimate. + Anything to injure the other man, provided always you do not knife him. + And when you take a half dozen of these enduring, active, muscular, and + fiery men, not one entertaining in his innermost heart the faintest + hesitation or fear, and set them at each other with the lightning + tirelessness of so many wild-cats, you get as hard a fight as you could + desire. And they seem to like it. + </p> + <p> + One old fellow, a good deal of a character in his way, used to be on the + “drive” for a firm lumbering near Six Lakes. He was intensely loyal to his + “Old Fellows,” and every time he got a little “budge” in him, he + instituted a raid on the town owned by a rival firm. So frequent and so + severe did these battles become that finally the men were informed that + another such expedition would mean instant discharge. The rule had its + effect. The raids ceased. + </p> + <p> + But one day old Dan visited the saloon once too often. He became very + warlike. The other men merely laughed, for they were strong enough + themselves to recognize firmness in others, and it never occurred to them + that they could disobey so absolute a command. So finally Dan started out + quite alone. + </p> + <p> + He invaded the enemy's camp, attempted to clean out the saloon with a + billiard cue single handed, was knocked down, and would have been kicked + to death as he lay on the floor if he had not succeeded in rolling under + the billiard table where the men's boots could not reach him. As it was, + his clothes were literally torn to ribbons, one eye was blacked, his nose + broken, one ear hung to its place by a mere shred of skin, and his face + and flesh were ripped and torn everywhere by the “corks” on the boots. Any + but a riverman would have qualified for the hospital. Dan rolled to the + other side of the table, made a sudden break, and escaped. + </p> + <p> + But his fighting blood was not all spilled. He raided the butcher-shop, + seized the big carving knife, and returned to the battle field. + </p> + <p> + The enemy decamped—rapidly—some of them through the window. + Dan managed to get in but one blow. He ripped the coat down the man's back + as neatly as though it had been done with shears, one clean straight cut + from collar to bottom seam. A quarter of an inch nearer would have split + the fellow's backbone. As it was, he escaped without even a scratch. + </p> + <p> + Dan commandeered two bottles of whisky, and, gory and wounded as he was, + took up the six-mile tramp home, bearing the knife over his shoulder as a + banner of triumph. + </p> + <p> + Next morning, weak from the combined effects of war and whisky, he + reported to headquarters. + </p> + <p> + “What is it, Dan?” asked the Old Fellow without turning. + </p> + <p> + “I come to get my time,” replied the riverman humbly. + </p> + <p> + “What for?” inquired the lumberman. + </p> + <p> + “I have been over to Howard City,” confessed Dan. + </p> + <p> + The owner turned and looked him over. + </p> + <p> + “They sort of got ahead of me a little,” explained Dan sheepishly. + </p> + <p> + The lumberman took stock of the old man's cuts and bruises, and turned + away to hide a smile. + </p> + <p> + “I guess I'll let you off this trip,” said he. “Go to work—when you + can. I don't believe you'll go back there again.” + </p> + <p> + “No, sir,” replied Dan humbly. + </p> + <p> + And so the life of alternate work and pleasure, both full of personal + danger, develops in time a class of men whose like is to be found only + among the cowboys, scouts, trappers, and Indian fighters of our other + frontiers. The moralists will always hold up the hands of horror at such + types; the philosopher will admire them as the last incarnation of the + heroic age, when the man is bigger than his work. Soon the factories, the + machines, the mechanical structures and constructions, the various + branches of co-operation will produce quasi-automatically institutions + evidently more important than the genius or force of any one human being. + The personal element will have become nearly eliminated. In the woods and + on the frontier still are many whose powers are greater than their works; + whose fame is greater than their deeds. They are men, powerful, virile, + even brutal at times; but magnificent with the strength of courage and + resource. + </p> + <p> + All this may seem a digression from the thread of our tale, but as a + matter of fact it is necessary that you understand the conditions of the + time and place in which Harry Thorpe had set himself the duty of success. + </p> + <p> + He had seen too much of incompetent labor to be satisfied with anything + but the best. Although his ideas were not as yet formulated, he hoped to + be able to pick up a crew of first-class men from those who had come down + with the advance, or “jam,” of the spring's drive. They should have + finished their orgies by now, and, empty of pocket, should be found + hanging about the boarding-houses and the quieter saloons. Thorpe intended + to offer good wages for good men. He would not need more than twenty at + first, for during the approaching winter he purposed to log on a very + small scale indeed. The time for expansion would come later. + </p> + <p> + With this object in view he set out from his hotel about half-past seven + on the day of his arrival, to cruise about in the lumber-jack district + already described. The hotel clerk had obligingly given him the names of a + number of the quieter saloons, where the boys “hung out” between bursts of + prosperity. In the first of these Thorpe was helped materially in his + vague and uncertain quest by encountering an old acquaintance. + </p> + <p> + From the sidewalk he heard the vigorous sounds of a one-sided altercation + punctuated by frequent bursts of quickly silenced laughter. Evidently some + one was very angry, and the rest amused. After a moment Thorpe imagined he + recognized the excited voice. So he pushed open the swinging screen door + and entered. + </p> + <p> + The place was typical. Across one side ran the hard-wood bar with + foot-rest and little towels hung in metal clasps under its edge. Behind it + was a long mirror, a symmetrical pile of glasses, a number of plain or + ornamental bottles, and a miniature keg or so of porcelain containing the + finer whiskys and brandies. The bar-keeper drew beer from two pumps + immediately in front of him, and rinsed glasses in some sort of a sink + under the edge of the bar. The center of the room was occupied by a + tremendous stove capable of burning whole logs of cordwood. A stovepipe + led from the stove here and there in wire suspension to a final exit near + the other corner. On the wall were two sporting chromos, and a good + variety of lithographed calendars and illuminated tin signs advertising + beers and spirits. The floor was liberally sprinkled with damp sawdust, + and was occupied, besides the stove, by a number of wooden chairs and a + single round table. + </p> + <p> + The latter, a clumsy heavy affair beyond the strength of an ordinary man, + was being deftly interposed between himself and the attacks of the + possessor of the angry voice by a gigantic young riverman in the + conventional stagged (i.e., chopped off) trousers, “cork” shoes, and broad + belt typical of his craft. In the aggressor Thorpe recognized old Jackson + Hines. + </p> + <p> + “Damn you!” cried the old man, qualifying the oath, “let me get at you, + you great big sock-stealer, I'll make you hop high! I'll snatch you + bald-headed so quick that you'll think you never had any hair!” + </p> + <p> + “I'll settle with you in the morning, Jackson,” laughed the riverman. + </p> + <p> + “You want to eat a good breakfast, then, because you won't have no + appetite for dinner.” + </p> + <p> + The men roared, with encouraging calls. The riverman put on a ludicrous + appearance of offended dignity. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, you needn't swell up like a poisoned pup!” cried old Jackson + plaintively, ceasing his attacks from sheer weariness. “You know you're as + safe as a cow tied to a brick wall behind that table.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe seized the opportunity to approach. + </p> + <p> + “Hello, Jackson,” said he. + </p> + <p> + The old man peered at him out of the blur of his excitement. + </p> + <p> + “Don't you know me?” inquired Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “Them lamps gives 'bout as much light as a piece of chalk,” complained + Jackson testily. “Knows you? You bet I do! How are you, Harry? Where you + been keepin' yourself? You look 'bout as fat as a stall-fed knittin' + needle.” + </p> + <p> + “I've been landlooking in the upper peninsula,” explained Thorpe, “on the + Ossawinamakee, up in the Marquette country.” + </p> + <p> + “Sho'” commented Jackson in wonder, “way up there where the moon changes!” + </p> + <p> + “It's a fine country,” went on Thorpe so everyone could hear, “with a + great cutting of white pine. It runs as high as twelve hundred thousand to + the forty sometimes.” + </p> + <p> + “Trees clean an' free of limbs?” asked Jackson. + </p> + <p> + “They're as good as the stuff over on seventeen; you remember that.” + </p> + <p> + “Clean as a baby's leg,” agreed Jackson. + </p> + <p> + “Have a glass of beer?” asked Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “Dry as a tobacco box,” confessed Hines. + </p> + <p> + “Have something, the rest of you?” invited Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + So they all drank. + </p> + <p> + On a sudden inspiration Thorpe resolved to ask the old man's advice as to + crew and horses. It might not be good for much, but it would do no harm. + </p> + <p> + Jackson listened attentively to the other's brief recital. + </p> + <p> + “Why don't you see Tim Shearer? He ain't doin' nothin' since the jam came + down,” was his comment. + </p> + <p> + “Isn't he with the M. & D. people?” asked Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “Nope. Quit.” + </p> + <p> + “How's that?” + </p> + <p> + “'Count of Morrison. Morrison he comes up to run things some. He does. Tim + he's getting the drive in shape, and he don't want to be bothered, but old + Morrison he's as busy as hell beatin' tan-bark. Finally Tim, he calls him. + “'Look here, Mr. Morrison,' says he, 'I'm runnin' this drive. If I don't + get her there, all right; you can give me my time. 'Till then you ain't + got nothin' to say.' + </p> + <p> + “Well, that makes the Old Fellow as sore as a scalded pup. He's used to + bossin' clerks and such things, and don't have much of an idea of + lumber-jacks. He has big ideas of respect, so he 'calls' Tim dignified + like. + </p> + <p> + “Tim didn't hit him; but I guess he felt like th' man who met the bear + without any weapon,—even a newspaper would 'a' come handy. He hands + in his time t' once and quits. Sence then he's been as mad as a bar-keep + with a lead quarter, which ain't usual for Tim. He's been filin' his teeth + for M. & D. right along. Somethin's behind it all, I reckon.” + </p> + <p> + “Where'll I find him?” asked Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + Jackson gave the name of a small boarding-house. Shortly after, Thorpe + left him to amuse the others with his unique conversation, and hunted up + Shearer's stopping-place. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXVIII + </h2> + <p> + The boarding-house proved to be of the typical lumber-jack class, a narrow + “stoop,” a hall-way and stairs in the center, and an office and bar on + either side. Shearer and a half dozen other men about his own age sat, + their chairs on two legs and their “cork” boots on the rounds of the + chairs, smoking placidly in the tepid evening air. The light came from + inside the building, so that while Thorpe was in plain view, he could not + make out which of the dark figures on the piazza was the man he wanted. He + approached, and attempted an identifying scrutiny. The men, with the + taciturnity of their class in the presence of a stranger, said nothing. + </p> + <p> + “Well, bub,” finally drawled a voice from the corner, “blowed that stake + you made out of Radway, yet?” + </p> + <p> + “That you, Shearer?” inquired Thorpe advancing. “You're the man I'm + looking for.” + </p> + <p> + “You've found me,” replied the old man dryly. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe was requested elaborately to “shake hands” with the owners of six + names. Then he had a chance to intimate quietly to Shearer that he wanted + a word with him alone. The riverman rose silently and led the way up the + straight, uncarpeted stairs, along a narrow, uncarpeted hall, to a square, + uncarpeted bedroom. The walls and ceiling of this apartment were of + unpainted planed pine. It contained a cheap bureau, one chair, and a bed + and washstand to match the bureau. Shearer lit the lamp and sat on the + bed. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “I have a little pine up in the northern peninsula within walking distance + of Marquette,” said Thorpe, “and I want to get a crew of about twenty men. + It occurred to me that you might be willing to help me.” + </p> + <p> + The riverman frowned steadily at his interlocutor from under his bushy + brows. + </p> + <p> + “How much pine you got?” he asked finally. + </p> + <p> + “About three hundred millions,” replied Thorpe quietly. + </p> + <p> + The old man's blue eyes fixed themselves with unwavering steadiness on + Thorpe's face. + </p> + <p> + “You're jobbing some of it, eh?” he submitted finally as the only probable + conclusion. “Do you think you know enough about it? Who does it belong + to?” + </p> + <p> + “It belongs to a man named Carpenter and myself.” + </p> + <p> + The riverman pondered this slowly for an appreciable interval, and then + shot out another question. + </p> + <p> + “How'd you get it?” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe told him simply, omitting nothing except the name of the firm + up-river. When he had finished, Shearer evinced no astonishment nor + approval. + </p> + <p> + “You done well,” he commented finally. Then after another interval: + </p> + <p> + “Have you found out who was the men stealin' the pine?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” replied Thorpe quietly, “it was Morrison & Daly.” + </p> + <p> + The old man flickered not an eyelid. He slowly filled his pipe and lit it. + </p> + <p> + “I'll get you a crew of men,” said he, “if you'll take me as foreman.” + </p> + <p> + “But it's a little job at first,” protested Thorpe. “I only want a camp of + twenty. It wouldn't be worth your while.” + </p> + <p> + “That's my look-out. I'll take th' job,” replied the logger grimly. “You + got three hundred million there, ain't you? And you're goin' to cut it? It + ain't such a small job.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe could hardly believe his good-fortune in having gained so important + a recruit. With a practical man as foreman, his mind would be relieved of + a great deal of worry over unfamiliar detail. He saw at once that he would + himself be able to perform all the duties of scaler, keep in touch with + the needs of the camp, and supervise the campaign. Nevertheless he + answered the older man's glance with one as keen, and said: + </p> + <p> + “Look here, Shearer, if you take this job, we may as well understand each + other at the start. This is going to be my camp, and I'm going to be boss. + I don't know much about logging, and I shall want you to take charge of + all that, but I shall want to know just why you do each thing, and if my + judgment advises otherwise, my judgment goes. If I want to discharge a + man, he WALKS without any question. I know about what I shall expect of + each man; and I intend to get it out of him. And in questions of policy + mine is the say-so every trip. Now I know you're a good man, one of the + best there is, and I presume I shall find your judgment the best, but I + don't want any mistakes to start with. If you want to be my foreman on + those terms, just say so, and I'll be tickled to death to have you.” + </p> + <p> + For the first time the lumberman's face lost, during a single instant, its + mask of immobility. His steel-blue eyes flashed, his mouth twitched with + some strong emotion. For the first time, too, he spoke without his + contemplative pause of preparation. + </p> + <p> + “That's th' way to talk!” he cried. “Go with you? Well I should rise to + remark! You're the boss; and I always said it. I'll get you a gang of + bully boys that will roll logs till there's skating in hell!” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe left, after making an appointment at his own hotel for the + following day, more than pleased with his luck. Although he had by now + fairly good and practical ideas in regard to the logging of a bunch of + pine, he felt himself to be very deficient in the details. In fact, he + anticipated his next step with shaky confidence. He would now be called + upon to buy four or five teams of horses, and enough feed to last them the + entire winter; he would have to arrange for provisions in abundance and + variety for his men; he would have to figure on blankets, harness, + cook-camp utensils, stoves, blacksmith tools, iron, axes, chains, + cant-hooks, van-goods, pails, lamps, oil, matches, all sorts of hardware,—in + short, all the thousand and one things, from needles to court-plaster, of + which a self-sufficing community might come in need. And he would have to + figure out his requirements for the entire winter. After navigation + closed, he could import nothing more. + </p> + <p> + How could he know what to buy,—how many barrels of flour, how much + coffee, raisins, baking powder, soda, pork, beans, dried apples, sugar, + nutmeg, pepper, salt, crackers, molasses, ginger, lard, tea, corned beef, + catsup, mustard,—to last twenty men five or six months? How could he + be expected to think of each item of a list of two hundred, the lack of + which meant measureless bother, and the desirability of which suggested + itself only when the necessity arose? It is easy, when the mind is + occupied with multitudinous detail, to forget simple things, like brooms + or iron shovels. With Tim Shearer to help his inexperience, he felt easy. + He knew he could attend to advantageous buying, and to making arrangements + with the steamship line to Marquette for the landing of his goods at the + mouth of the Ossawinamakee. + </p> + <p> + Deep in these thoughts, he wandered on at random. He suddenly came to + himself in the toughest quarter of Bay City. + </p> + <p> + Through the summer night shrilled the sound of cachinations painted to the + colors of mirth. A cheap piano rattled and thumped through an open window. + Men's and women's voices mingled in rising and falling gradations of + harshness. Lights streamed irregularly across the dark. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe became aware of a figure crouched in the door-way almost at his + feet. The sill lay in shadow so the bulk was lost, but the flickering rays + of a distant street lamp threw into relief the high-lights of a violin, + and a head. The face upturned to him was thin and white and wolfish under + a broad white brow. Dark eyes gleamed at him with the expression of a + fierce animal. Across the forehead ran a long but shallow cut from which + blood dripped. The creature clasped both arms around a violin. He crouched + there and stared up at Thorpe, who stared down at him. + </p> + <p> + “What's the matter?” asked the latter finally. + </p> + <p> + The creature made no reply, but drew his arms closer about his instrument, + and blinked his wolf eyes. + </p> + <p> + Moved by some strange, half-tolerant whim of compassion, Thorpe made a + sign to the unknown to rise. + </p> + <p> + “Come with me,” said he, “and I'll have your forehead attended to.” + </p> + <p> + The wolf eyes gleamed into his with a sudden savage concentration. Then + their owner obediently arose. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe now saw that the body before him was of a cripple, short-legged, + hunch-backed, long-armed, pigeon-breasted. The large head sat strangely + top-heavy between even the broad shoulders. It confirmed the hopeless but + sullen despair that brooded on the white countenance. + </p> + <p> + At the hotel Thorpe, examining the cut, found it more serious in + appearance than in reality. With a few pieces of sticking plaster he drew + its edges together. + </p> + <p> + Then he attempted to interrogate his find. + </p> + <p> + “What is your name?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Phil.” + </p> + <p> + “Phil what?” + </p> + <p> + Silence. + </p> + <p> + “How did you get hurt?” + </p> + <p> + No reply. + </p> + <p> + “Were you playing your fiddle in one of those houses?” + </p> + <p> + The cripple nodded slowly. + </p> + <p> + “Are you hungry?” asked Thorpe, with a sudden thoughtfulness. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” replied the cripple, with a lightning gleam in his wolf eyes. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe rang the bell. To the boy who answered it he said: + </p> + <p> + “Bring me half a dozen beef sandwiches and a glass of milk, and be quick + about it.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you play the fiddle much?” continued Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + The cripple nodded again. + </p> + <p> + “Let's hear what you can do.” + </p> + <p> + “They cut my strings!” cried Phil with a passionate wail. + </p> + <p> + The cry came from the heart, and Thorpe was touched by it. The price of + strings was evidently a big sum. + </p> + <p> + “I'll get you more in the morning,” said he. “Would you like to leave Bay + City?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes” cried the boy with passion. + </p> + <p> + “You would have to work. You would have to be chore-boy in a lumber camp, + and play fiddle for the men when they wanted you to.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll do it,” said the cripple. + </p> + <p> + “Are you sure you could? You will have to split all the wood for the men, + the cook, and the office; you will have to draw the water, and fill the + lamps, and keep the camps clean. You will be paid for it, but it is quite + a job. And you would have to do it well. If you did not do it well, I + would discharge you.” + </p> + <p> + “I will do it!” repeated the cripple with a shade more earnestness. + </p> + <p> + “All right, then I'll take you,” replied Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + The cripple said nothing, nor moved a muscle of his face, but the gleam of + the wolf faded to give place to the soft, affectionate glow seen in the + eyes of a setter dog. Thorpe was startled at the change. + </p> + <p> + A knock announced the sandwiches and milk. The cripple fell upon them with + both hands in a sudden ecstacy of hunger. When he had finished, he looked + again at Thorpe, and this time there were tears in his eyes. + </p> + <p> + A little later Thorpe interviewed the proprietor of the hotel. + </p> + <p> + “I wish you'd give this boy a good cheap room and charge his keep to me,” + said he. “He's going north with me.” + </p> + <p> + Phil was led away by the irreverent porter, hugging tightly his unstrung + violin to his bosom. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe lay awake for some time after retiring. Phil claimed a share of his + thoughts. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe's winter in the woods had impressed upon him that a good cook and a + fiddler will do more to keep men contented than high wages and easy work. + So his protection of the cripple was not entirely disinterested. But his + imagination persisted in occupying itself with the boy. What terrible life + of want and vicious associates had he led in this terrible town? What + treatment could have lit that wolf-gleam in his eyes? What hell had he + inhabited that he was so eager to get away? In an hour or so he dozed. He + dreamed that the cripple had grown to enormous proportions and was + overshadowing his life. A slight noise outside his bed-room door brought + him to his feet. + </p> + <p> + He opened the door and found that in the stillness of the night the poor + deformed creature had taken the blankets from his bed and had spread them + across the door-sill of the man who had befriended him. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0029" id="link2HCH0029"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXIX + </h2> + <p> + Three weeks later the steam barge Pole Star sailed down the reach of + Saginaw Bay. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe had received letters from Carpenter advising him of a credit to him + at a Marquette bank, and inclosing a draft sufficient for current + expenses. Tim Shearer had helped make out the list of necessaries. In time + everything was loaded, the gang-plank hauled in, and the little band of + Argonauts set their faces toward the point where the Big Dipper swings. + </p> + <p> + The weather was beautiful. Each morning the sun rose out of the frosty + blue lake water, and set in a sea of deep purple. The moon, once again at + the full, drew broad paths across the pathless waste. From the southeast + blew daily the lake trades, to die at sunset, and then to return in the + soft still nights from the west. A more propitious beginning for the + adventure could not be imagined. + </p> + <p> + The ten horses in the hold munched their hay and oats as peaceably as + though at home in their own stables. Jackson Hines had helped select them + from the stock of firms changing locality or going out of business. His + judgment in such matters was infallible, but he had resolutely refused to + take the position of barn-boss which Thorpe offered him. + </p> + <p> + “No,” said he, “she's too far north. I'm gettin' old, and the rheumatics + ain't what you might call abandonin' of me. Up there it's colder than hell + on a stoker's holiday.” + </p> + <p> + So Shearer had picked out a barn-boss of his own. This man was important, + for the horses are the mainstay of logging operations. He had selected + also, a blacksmith, a cook, four teamsters, half a dozen cant-hook men, + and as many handy with ax or saw. + </p> + <p> + “The blacksmith is also a good wood-butcher (carpenter),” explained + Shearer. “Four teams is all we ought to keep going at a clip. If we need a + few axmen, we can pick 'em up at Marquette. I think this gang'll stick. I + picked 'em.” + </p> + <p> + There was not a young man in the lot. They were most of them in the prime + of middle life, between thirty and forty, rugged in appearance, “cocky” in + manner, with the swagger and the oath of so many buccaneers, hard as + nails. Altogether Thorpe thought them about as rough a set of customers as + he had ever seen. Throughout the day they played cards on deck, and spat + tobacco juice abroad, and swore incessantly. Toward himself and Shearer + their manner was an odd mixture of independent equality and a slight + deference. It was as much as to say, “You're the boss, but I'm as good a + man as you any day.” They would be a rough, turbulent, unruly mob to + handle, but under a strong man they might accomplish wonders. + </p> + <p> + Constituting the elite of the profession, as it were,—whose swagger + every lad new to the woods and river tried to emulate, to whom lesser + lights looked up as heroes and models, and whose lofty, half-contemptuous + scorn of everything and everybody outside their circle of “bully boys” was + truly the aristocracy of class,—Thorpe might have wondered at their + consenting to work for an obscure little camp belonging to a greenhorn. + Loyalty to and pride in the firm for which he works is a strong + characteristic of the lumber-jack. He will fight at the drop of a hat on + behalf of his “Old Fellows”; brag loud and long of the season's cut, the + big loads, the smart methods of his camps; and even after he has been + discharged for some flagrant debauch, he cherishes no rancor, but speaks + with a soft reminiscence to the end of his days concerning “that winter in + '81 when the Old Fellows put in sixty million on Flat River.” + </p> + <p> + For this reason he feels that he owes it to his reputation to ally himself + only with firms of creditable size and efficiency. The small camps are for + the youngsters. Occasionally you will see two or three of the veterans in + such a camp, but it is generally a case of lacking something better. + </p> + <p> + The truth is, Shearer had managed to inspire in the minds of his cronies + an idea that they were about to participate in a fight. He re-told + Thorpe's story artistically, shading the yellows and the reds. He detailed + the situation as it existed. The men agreed that the “young fellow had + sand enough for a lake front.” After that there needed but a little + skillful maneuvering to inspire them with the idea that it would be a + great thing to take a hand, to “make a camp” in spite of the big concern + up-river. + </p> + <p> + Shearer knew that this attitude was tentative. Everything depended on how + well Thorpe lived up to his reputation at the outset,—how good a + first impression of force and virility he would manage to convey,—for + the first impression possessed the power of transmuting the present rather + ill-defined enthusiasm into loyalty or dissatisfaction. But Tim himself + believed in Thorpe blindly. So he had no fears. + </p> + <p> + A little incident at the beginning of the voyage did much to reassure him. + It was on the old question of whisky. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe had given orders that no whisky was to be brought aboard, as he + intended to tolerate no high-sea orgies. Soon after leaving dock he saw + one of the teamsters drinking from a pint flask. Without a word he stepped + briskly forward, snatched the bottle from the man's lips, and threw it + overboard. Then he turned sharp on his heel and walked away, without + troubling himself as to how the fellow was going to take it. + </p> + <p> + The occurrence pleased the men, for it showed them they had made no + mistake. But it meant little else. The chief danger really was lest they + become too settled in the protective attitude. As they took it, they were + about, good-naturedly, to help along a worthy greenhorn. This they + considered exceedingly generous on their part, and in their own minds they + were inclined to look on Thorpe much as a grown man would look on a child. + There needed an occasion for him to prove himself bigger than they. + </p> + <p> + Fine weather followed them up the long blue reach of Lake Huron; into the + noble breadth of the Detour Passage, past the opening through the Thousand + Islands of the Georgian Bay; into the St. Mary's River. They were locked + through after some delay on account of the grain barges from Duluth, and + at last turned their prow westward in the Big Sea Water, beyond which lay + Hiawatha's Po-ne-mah, the Land of the Hereafter. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe was about late that night, drinking in the mystic beauty of the + scene. Northern lights, pale and dim, stretched their arc across beneath + the Dipper. The air, soft as the dead leaves of spring, fanned his cheek. + By and by the moon, like a red fire at sea, lifted itself from the waves. + Thorpe made his way to the stern, beyond the square deck house, where he + intended to lean on the rail in silent contemplation of the moon-path. + </p> + <p> + He found another before him. Phil, the little cripple, was peering into + the wonderful east, its light in his eyes. He did not look at Thorpe when + the latter approached, but seemed aware of his presence, for he moved + swiftly to give room. + </p> + <p> + “It is very beautiful; isn't it, Phil?” said Thorpe after a moment. + </p> + <p> + “It is the Heart Song of the Sea,” replied the cripple in a hushed voice. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe looked down surprised. + </p> + <p> + “Who told you that?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + But the cripple, repeating the words of a chance preacher, could explain + himself no farther. In a dim way the ready-made phrase had expressed the + smothered poetic craving of his heart,—the belief that the sea, the + sky, the woods, the men and women, you, I, all have our Heart Songs, the + Song which is most beautiful. + </p> + <p> + “The Heart Song of the Sea,” he repeated gropingly. “I don't know ...I + play it,” and he made the motion of drawing a bow across strings, “very + still and low.” And this was all Thorpe's question could elicit. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe fell silent in the spell of the night, and pondered over the + chances of life which had cast on the shores of the deep as driftwood the + soul of a poet. + </p> + <p> + “Your Song,” said the cripple timidly, “some day I will hear it. Not yet. + That night in Bay City, when you took me in, I heard it very dim. But I + cannot play it yet on my violin.” + </p> + <p> + “Has your violin a song of its own?” queried the man. + </p> + <p> + “I cannot hear it. It tries to sing, but there is something in the way. I + cannot. Some day I will hear it and play it, but—” and he drew + nearer Thorpe and touched his arm—“that day will be very bad for me. + I lose something.” His eyes of the wistful dog were big and wondering. + </p> + <p> + “Queer little Phil!” cried Thorpe laughing whimsically. “Who tells you + these things?” + </p> + <p> + “Nobody,” said the cripple dreamily, “they come when it is like to-night. + In Bay City they do not come.” + </p> + <p> + At this moment a third voice broke in on them. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, it's you, Mr. Thorpe,” said the captain of the vessel. “Thought it + was some of them lumber-jacks, and I was going to fire 'em below. Fine + night.” + </p> + <p> + “It is that,” answered Thorpe, again the cold, unresponsive man of + reticence. “When do you expect to get in, Captain?” + </p> + <p> + “About to-morrow noon,” replied the captain, moving away. Thorpe followed + him a short distance, discussing the landing. The cripple stood all night, + his bright, luminous eyes gazing clear and unwinking at the moonlight, + listening to his Heart Song of the Sea. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0030" id="link2HCH0030"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXX + </h2> + <p> + Next morning continued the traditions of its calm predecessors. Therefore + by daybreak every man was at work. The hatches were opened, and soon + between-decks was cumbered with boxes, packing cases, barrels, and crates. + In their improvised stalls, the patient horses seemed to catch a hint of + shore-going and whinnied. By ten o'clock there loomed against the strange + coast line of the Pictured Rocks, a shallow bay and what looked to be a + dock distorted by the northern mirage. + </p> + <p> + “That's her,” said the captain. + </p> + <p> + Two hours later the steamboat swept a wide curve, slid between the yellow + waters of two outlying reefs, and, with slackened speed, moved slowly + toward the wharf of log cribs filled with stone. + </p> + <p> + The bay or the dock Thorpe had never seen. He took them on the captain's + say-so. He knew very well that the structure had been erected by and + belonged to Morrison & Daly, but the young man had had the foresight + to purchase the land lying on the deep water side of the bay. He therefore + anticipated no trouble in unloading; for while Morrison & Daly owned + the pier itself, the land on which it abutted belonged to him. + </p> + <p> + From the arms of the bay he could make out a dozen figures standing near + the end of the wharf. When, with propeller reversed, the Pole Star bore + slowly down towards her moorings, Thorpe recognized Dyer at the head of + eight or ten woodsmen. The sight of Radway's old scaler somehow filled him + with a quiet but dangerous anger, especially since that official, on whom + rested a portion at least of the responsibility of the jobber's failure, + was now found in the employ of the very company which had attempted that + failure. It looked suspicious. + </p> + <p> + “Catch this line!” sung out the mate, hurling the coil of a handline on + the wharf. + </p> + <p> + No one moved, and the little rope, after a moment, slid overboard with a + splash. + </p> + <p> + The captain, with a curse, signalled full speed astern. + </p> + <p> + “Captain Morse!” cried Dyer, stepping forward. “My orders are that you are + to land here nothing but M. & D. merchandise.” + </p> + <p> + “I have a right to land,” answered Thorpe. “The shore belongs to me.” + </p> + <p> + “This dock doesn't,” retorted the other sharply, “and you can't set foot + on her.” + </p> + <p> + “You have no legal status. You had no business building in the first place—” + began Thorpe, and then stopped with a choke of anger at the futility of + arguing legality in such a case. + </p> + <p> + The men had gathered interestedly in the waist of the ship, cool, + impartial, severely critical. The vessel, gathering speed astern, but not + yet obeying her reversed helm, swung her bow in towards the dock. Thorpe + ran swiftly forward, and during the instant of rubbing contact, leaped. + </p> + <p> + He alighted squarely upon his feet. Without an instant's hesitation, hot + with angry energy at finding his enemy within reach of his hand, he rushed + on Dyer, and with one full, clean in-blow stretched him stunned on the + dock. For a moment there was a pause of astonishment. Then the woodsmen + closed upon him. + </p> + <p> + During that instant Thorpe had become possessed of a weapon It came + hurling through the air from above to fall at his feet. Shearer, with the + cool calculation of the pioneer whom no excitement can distract from the + main issue, had seen that it would be impossible to follow his chief, and + so had done the next best thing,—thrown him a heavy iron belaying + pin. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe was active, alert, and strong. The men could come at him only in + front. As offset, he could not give ground, even for one step. Still, in + the hands of a powerful man, the belaying pin is by no means a despicable + weapon. Thorpe hit with all his strength and quickness. He was conscious + once of being on the point of defeat. Then he had cleared a little space + for himself. Then the men were on him again more savagely than ever. One + fellow even succeeded in hitting him a glancing blow on the shoulder. + </p> + <p> + Then came a sudden crash. Thorpe was nearly thrown from his feet. The next + instant a score of yelling men leaped behind and all around him. There + ensued a moment's scuffle, the sound of dull blows; and the dock was clear + of all but Dyer and three others who were, like himself, unconscious. The + captain, yielding to the excitement, had run his prow plump against the + wharf. + </p> + <p> + Some of the crew received the mooring lines. All was ready for + disembarkation. + </p> + <p> + Bryan Moloney, a strapping Irish-American of the big-boned, red-cheeked + type, threw some water over the four stunned combatants. Slowly they came + to life. They were promptly yanked to their feet by the irate rivermen, + who commenced at once to bestow sundry vigorous kicks and shakings by way + of punishment. Thorpe interposed. + </p> + <p> + “Quit it!” he commanded. “Let them go!” + </p> + <p> + The men grumbled. One or two were inclined to be openly rebellious. + </p> + <p> + “If I hear another peep out of you,” said Thorpe to these latter, “you can + climb right aboard and take the return trip.” He looked them in the eye + until they muttered, and then went on: “Now, we've got to get unloaded and + our goods ashore before those fellows report to camp. Get right moving, + and hustle!” + </p> + <p> + If the men expected any comment, approval, or familiarity from their + leader on account of their little fracas, they were disappointed. This was + a good thing. The lumber-jack demands in his boss a certain fundamental + unapproachability, whatever surface bonhomie he may evince. + </p> + <p> + So Dyer and his men picked themselves out of the trouble sullenly and + departed. The ex-scaler had nothing to say as long as he was within reach, + but when he had gained the shore, he turned. + </p> + <p> + “You won't think this is so funny when you get in the law-courts!” he + shouted. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe made no reply. “I guess we'll keep even,” he muttered. + </p> + <p> + “By the jumping Moses,” snarled Scotty Parsons turning in threat. + </p> + <p> + “Scotty!” said Thorpe sharply. + </p> + <p> + Scotty turned back to his task, which was to help the blacksmith put + together the wagon, the component parts of which the others had trundled + out. + </p> + <p> + With thirty men at the job it does not take a great while to move a small + cargo thirty or forty feet. By three o'clock the Pole Star was ready to + continue her journey. Thorpe climbed aboard, leaving Shearer in charge. + </p> + <p> + “Keep the men at it, Tim,” said he. “Put up the walls of the warehouse + good and strong, and move the stuff in. If it rains, you can spread the + tent over the roof, and camp in with the provisions. If you get through + before I return, you might take a scout up the river and fix on a camp + site. I'll bring back the lumber for roofs, floors, and trimmings with me, + and will try to pick up a few axmen for swamping. Above all things, have a + good man or so always in charge. Those fellows won't bother us any more + for the present, I think; but it pays to be on deck. So long.” + </p> + <p> + In Marquette, Thorpe arranged for the cashing of his time checks and + orders; bought lumber at the mills; talked contract with old Harvey, the + mill-owner and prospective buyer of the young man's cut; and engaged four + axmen whom he found loafing about, waiting for the season to open. + </p> + <p> + When he returned to the bay he found the warehouse complete except for the + roofs and gables. These, with their reinforcement of tar-paper, were + nailed on in short order. Shearer and Andrews, the surveyor, were scouting + up the river. + </p> + <p> + “No trouble from above, boys?” asked Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “Nary trouble,” they replied. + </p> + <p> + The warehouse was secured by padlocks, the wagon loaded with the tent and + the necessaries of life and work. Early in the morning the little + procession laughing, joking, skylarking with the high spirits of men in + the woods took its way up the river-trail. Late that evening, tired, but + still inclined to mischief, they came to the first dam, where Shearer and + Andrews met them. + </p> + <p> + “How do you like it, Tim?” asked Thorpe that evening. + </p> + <p> + “She's all right,” replied the riverman with emphasis; which, for him, was + putting it strong. + </p> + <p> + At noon of the following day the party arrived at the second dam. Here + Shearer had decided to build the permanent camp. Injin Charley was + constructing one of his endless series of birch-bark canoes. Later he + would paddle the whole string to Marquette, where he would sell them to a + hardware dealer for two dollars and a half apiece. + </p> + <p> + To Thorpe, who had walked on ahead with his foreman, it seemed that he had + never been away. There was the knoll; the rude camp with the deer hides; + the venison hanging suspended from the pole; the endless broil and tumult + of the clear north-country stream; the yellow glow over the hill opposite. + Yet he had gone a nearly penniless adventurer; he returned at the head of + an enterprise. + </p> + <p> + Injin Charley looked up and grunted as Thorpe approached. + </p> + <p> + “How are you, Charley?” greeted Thorpe reticently. + </p> + <p> + “You gettum pine? Good!” replied Charley in the same tone. + </p> + <p> + That was all; for strong men never talk freely of what is in their hearts. + There is no need; they understand. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0031" id="link2HCH0031"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXXI + </h2> + <p> + Two months passed away. Winter set in. The camp was built and inhabited. + Routine had established itself, and all was going well. + </p> + <p> + The first move of the M. & D. Company had been one of conciliation. + Thorpe was approached by the walking-boss of the camps up-river. The man + made no reference to or excuse for what had occurred, nor did he pretend + to any hypocritical friendship for the younger firm. His proposition was + entirely one of mutual advantage. The Company had gone to considerable + expense in constructing the pier of stone cribs. It would be impossible + for the steamer to land at any other point. Thorpe had undisputed + possession of the shore, but the Company could as indisputably remove the + dock. Let it stay where it was. Both companies could then use it for their + mutual convenience. + </p> + <p> + To this Thorpe agreed. Baker, the walking-boss, tried to get him to sign a + contract to that effect. Thorpe refused. + </p> + <p> + “Leave your dock where it is and use it when you want to,” said he. “I'll + agree not to interfere as long as you people behave yourselves.” + </p> + <p> + The actual logging was opening up well. Both Shearer and Thorpe agreed + that it would not do to be too ambitious the first year. They set about + clearing their banking ground about a half mile below the first dam; and + during the six weeks before snow-fall cut three short roads of half a mile + each. Approximately two million feet would be put in from these—roads + which could be extended in years to come—while another million could + be travoyed directly to the landing from its immediate vicinity. + </p> + <p> + “We won't skid them,” said Tim. “We'll haul from the stump to the bank. + And we'll tackle only a snowroad proposition:—we ain't got time to + monkey with buildin' sprinklers and plows this year. We'll make a little + stake ahead, and then next year we'll do it right and get in twenty + million. That railroad'll get along a ways by then, and men'll be more + plenty.” + </p> + <p> + Through the lengthening evenings they sat crouched on wooden boxes either + side of the stove, conversing rarely, gazing at one spot with a steady + persistency which was only an outward indication of the persistency with + which their minds held to the work in hand. Tim, the older at the + business, showed this trait more strongly than Thorpe. The old man thought + of nothing but logging. From the stump to the bank, from the bank to the + camp, from the camp to the stump again, his restless intelligence + travelled tirelessly, picking up, turning over, examining the littlest + details with an ever-fresh curiosity and interest. Nothing was too small + to escape this deliberate scrutiny. Nothing was in so perfect a state that + it did not bear one more inspection. He played the logging as a chess + player his game. One by one he adopted the various possibilities, remote + and otherwise, as hypotheses, and thought out to the uttermost copper + rivet what would be the best method of procedure in case that possibility + should confront him. + </p> + <p> + Occasionally Thorpe would introduce some other topic of conversation. The + old man would listen to his remark with the attention of courtesy; would + allow a decent period of silence to intervene; and then, reverting to the + old subject without comment on the new, would emit one of his terse + practical suggestions, result of a long spell of figuring. That is how + success is made. + </p> + <p> + In the men's camp the crew lounged, smoked, danced, or played cards. In + those days no one thought of forbidding gambling. One evening Thorpe, who + had been too busy to remember Phil's violin,—although he noticed, as + he did every other detail of the camp, the cripple's industry, and the + precision with which he performed his duties,—strolled over and + looked through the window. A dance was in progress. The men were waltzing, + whirling solemnly round and round, gripping firmly each other's loose + sleeves just above the elbow. At every third step of the waltz they + stamped one foot. + </p> + <p> + Perched on a cracker box sat Phil. His head was thrust forward almost + aggressively over his instrument, and his eyes glared at the dancing men + with the old wolf-like gleam. As he played, he drew the bow across with a + swift jerk, thrust it back with another, threw his shoulders from one side + to the other in abrupt time to the music. And the music! Thorpe + unconsciously shuddered; then sighed in pity. It was atrocious. It was not + even in tune. Two out of three of the notes were either sharp or flat, not + so flagrantly as to produce absolute disharmony, but just enough to set + the teeth on edge. And the rendition was as colorless as that of a poor + hand-organ. + </p> + <p> + The performer seemed to grind out his fearful stuff with a fierce delight, + in which appeared little of the esthetic pleasure of the artist. Thorpe + was at a loss to define it. + </p> + <p> + “Poor Phil,” he said to himself. “He has the musical soul without even the + musical ear!” + </p> + <p> + Next day, while passing out of the cook camp he addressed one of the men: + </p> + <p> + “Well, Billy,” he inquired, “how do you like your fiddler?” + </p> + <p> + “All RIGHT!” replied Billy with emphasis. “She's got some go to her.” + </p> + <p> + In the woods the work proceeded finely. From the travoy sledges and the + short roads a constant stream of logs emptied itself on the bank. There + long parallel skidways had been laid the whole width of the river valley. + Each log as it came was dragged across those monster andirons and rolled + to the bank of the river. The cant-hook men dug their implements into the + rough bark, leaned, lifted, or clung to the projecting stocks until slowly + the log moved, rolling with gradually increasing momentum. Then they + attacked it with fury lest the momentum be lost. Whenever it began to + deviate from the straight rolling necessary to keep it on the center of + the skids, one of the workers thrust the shoe of his cant-hook under one + end of the log. That end promptly stopped; the other, still rolling, soon + caught up; and the log moved on evenly, as was fitting. + </p> + <p> + At the end of the rollway the log collided with other logs and stopped + with the impact of one bowling ball against another. The men knew that + being caught between the two meant death or crippling for life. + Nevertheless they escaped from the narrowing interval at the latest + possible moment, for it is easier to keep a log rolling than to start it. + </p> + <p> + Then other men piled them by means of long steel chains and horses, just + as they would have skidded them in the woods. Only now the logs mounted up + and up until the skidways were thirty or forty feet high. Eventually the + pile of logs would fill the banking ground utterly, burying the landing + under a nearly continuous carpet of timber as thick as a two-story house + is tall. The work is dangerous. A saw log containing six hundred board + feet weighs about one ton. This is the weight of an ordinary iron safe. + When one of them rolls or falls from even a moderate height, its force is + irresistible. But when twenty or thirty cascade down the bold front of a + skidway, carrying a man or so with them, the affair becomes a catastrophe. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe's men, however, were all old-timers, and nothing of the sort + occurred. At first it made him catch his breath to see the apparent + chances they took; but after a little he perceived that seeming luck was + in reality a coolness of judgment and a long experience in the peculiar + ways of that most erratic of inanimate cussedness—the pine log. The + banks grew daily. Everybody was safe and sound. + </p> + <p> + The young lumberman had sense enough to know that, while a crew such as + his is supremely effective, it requires careful handling to keep it + good-humored and willing. He knew every man by his first name, and each + day made it a point to talk with him for a moment or so. The subject was + invariably some phase of the work. Thorpe never permitted himself the + familiarity of introducing any other topic. By this course he preserved + the nice balance between too great reserve, which chills the lumber-jack's + rather independent enthusiasm, and the too great familiarity, which loses + his respect. He never replied directly to an objection or a request, but + listened to it non-committally; and later, without explanation or + reasoning, acted as his judgment dictated. Even Shearer, with whom he was + in most intimate contact, respected this trait in him. Gradually he came + to feel that he was making a way with his men. It was a status, not + assured as yet nor even very firm, but a status for all that. + </p> + <p> + Then one day one of the best men, a teamster, came in to make some + objection to the cooking. As a matter of fact, the cooking was perfectly + good. It generally is, in a well-conducted camp, but the lumber-jack is a + great hand to growl, and he usually begins with his food. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe listened to his vague objections in silence. + </p> + <p> + “All right,” he remarked simply. + </p> + <p> + Next day he touched the man on the shoulder just as he was starting to + work. + </p> + <p> + “Step into the office and get your time,” said he. + </p> + <p> + “What's the matter?” asked the man. + </p> + <p> + “I don't need you any longer.” + </p> + <p> + The two entered the little office. Thorpe looked through the ledger and + van book, and finally handed the man his slip. + </p> + <p> + “Where do I get this?” asked the teamster, looking at it uncertainly. + </p> + <p> + “At the bank in Marquette,” replied Thorpe without glancing around. + </p> + <p> + “Have I got to go 'way up to Marquette?” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly,” replied Thorpe briefly. + </p> + <p> + “Who's going to pay my fare south?” + </p> + <p> + “You are. You can get work at Marquette.” + </p> + <p> + “That ain't a fair shake,” cried the man excitedly. + </p> + <p> + “I'll have no growlers in this camp,” said Thorpe with decision. + </p> + <p> + “By God!” cried the man, “you damned—” + </p> + <p> + “You get out of here!” cried Thorpe with a concentrated blaze of energetic + passion that made the fellow step back. + </p> + <p> + “I ain't goin' to get on the wrong side of the law by foolin' with this + office,” cried the other at the door, “but if I had you outside for a + minute—” + </p> + <p> + “Leave this office!” shouted Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “S'pose you make me!” challenged the man insolently. + </p> + <p> + In a moment the defiance had come, endangering the careful structure + Thorpe had reared with such pains. The young man was suddenly angry in + exactly the same blind, unreasoning manner as when he had leaped + single-handed to tackle Dyer's crew. + </p> + <p> + Without a word he sprang across the shack, seized a two-bladed ax from the + pile behind the door, swung it around his head and cast it full at the now + frightened teamster. The latter dodged, and the swirling steel buried + itself in the snowbank beyond. Without an instant's hesitation Thorpe + reached back for another. The man took to his heels. + </p> + <p> + “I don't want to see you around here again!” shouted Thorpe after him. + </p> + <p> + Then in a moment he returned to the office and sat down overcome with + contrition. + </p> + <p> + “It might have been murder!” he told himself, awe-stricken. + </p> + <p> + But, as it happened, nothing could have turned out better. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe had instinctively seized the only method by which these strong men + could be impressed. A rough-and-tumble attempt at ejectment would have + been useless. Now the entire crew looked with vast admiration on their + boss as a man who intended to have his own way no matter what difficulties + or consequences might tend to deter him. And that is the kind of man they + liked. This one deed was more effective in cementing their loyalty than + any increase of wages would have been. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe knew that their restless spirits would soon tire of the monotony of + work without ultimate interest. Ordinarily the hope of a big cut is + sufficient to keep men of the right sort working for a record. But these + men had no such hope—the camp was too small, and they were too few. + Thorpe adopted the expedient, now quite common, of posting the results of + each day's work in the men's shanty. + </p> + <p> + Three teams were engaged in travoying, and two in skidding the logs, + either on the banking ground, or along the road. Thorpe divided his camp + into four sections, which he distinguished by the names of the teamsters. + Roughly speaking, each of the three hauling teams had its own gang of + sawyers and skidders to supply it with logs and to take them from it, for + of the skidding teams, one was split;—the horses were big enough so + that one of them to a skidway sufficed. Thus three gangs of men were + performing each day practically the same work. Thorpe scaled the results, + and placed them conspicuously for comparison. + </p> + <p> + Red Jacket, the teamster of the sorrels, one day was credited with 11,000 + feet; while Long Pine Jim and Rollway Charley had put in but 10,500 and + 10,250 respectively. That evening all the sawyers, swampers, and skidders + belonging to Red Jacket's outfit were considerably elated; while the + others said little and prepared for business on the morrow. + </p> + <p> + Once Long Pine Jim lurked at the bottom for three days. Thorpe happened by + the skidway just as Long Pine arrived with a log. The young fellow glanced + solicitously at the splendid buckskins, the best horses in camp. + </p> + <p> + “I'm afraid I didn't give you a very good team, Jimmy,” said he, and + passed on. + </p> + <p> + That was all; but men of the rival gangs had heard. In camp Long Pine Jim + and his crew received chaffing with balefully red glares. Next day they + stood at the top by a good margin, and always after were competitors to be + feared. + </p> + <p> + Injin Charley, silent and enigmatical as ever, had constructed a log shack + near a little creek over in the hardwood. There he attended diligently to + the business of trapping. Thorpe had brought him a deer knife from + Detroit; a beautiful instrument made of the best tool steel, in one long + piece extending through the buck-horn handle. One could even break bones + with it. He had also lent the Indian the assistance of two of his + Marquette men in erecting the shanty; and had given him a barrel of flour + for the winter. From time to time Injin Charley brought in fresh meat, for + which he was paid. This with his trapping, and his manufacture of + moccasins, snowshoes and birch canoes, made him a very prosperous Indian + indeed. Thorpe rarely found time to visit him, but he often glided into + the office, smoked a pipeful of the white man's tobacco in friendly + fashion by the stove, and glided out again without having spoken a dozen + words. + </p> + <p> + Wallace made one visit before the big snows came, and was charmed. He ate + with gusto of the “salt-horse,” baked beans, stewed prunes, mince pie, and + cakes. He tramped around gaily in his moccasins or on the fancy snowshoes + he promptly purchased of Injin Charley. There was nothing new to report in + regard to financial matters. The loan had been negotiated easily on the + basis of a mortgage guaranteed by Carpenter's personal signature. Nothing + had been heard from Morrison & Daly. + </p> + <p> + When he departed, he left behind him four little long-eared, short-legged + beagle hounds. They were solemn animals, who took life seriously. Never a + smile appeared in their questioning eyes. Wherever one went, the others + followed, pattering gravely along in serried ranks. Soon they discovered + that the swamp over the knoll contained big white hares. Their mission in + life was evident. Thereafter from the earliest peep of daylight until the + men quit work at night they chased rabbits. The quest was hopeless, but + they kept obstinately at it, wallowing with contained excitement over a + hundred paces of snow before they would get near enough to scare their + quarry to another jump. It used to amuse the hares. All day long the + mellow bell-tones echoed over the knoll. It came in time to be part of the + color of the camp, just as were the pines and birches, or the cold + northern sky. At the fall of night, exhausted, trailing their long ears + almost to the ground, they returned to the cook, who fed them and made + much of them. Next morning they were at it as hard as ever. To them it was + the quest for the Grail,—hopeless, but glorious. + </p> + <p> + Little Phil, entrusted with the alarm clock, was the first up in the + morning In the fearful biting cold of an extinct camp, he lighted his + lantern and with numb hands raked the ashes from the stove. A few sticks + of dried pine topped by split wood of birch or maple, all well dashed with + kerosene, took the flame eagerly. Then he awakened the cook, and stole + silently into the office, where Thorpe and Shearer and Andrews, the + surveyor, lay asleep. There quietly he built another fire, and filled the + water-pail afresh. By the time this task was finished, the cook sounded + many times a conch, and the sleeping camp awoke. + </p> + <p> + Later Phil drew water for the other shanties, swept out all three, split + wood and carried it in to the cook and to the living-camps, filled and + trimmed the lamps, perhaps helped the cook. About half the remainder of + the day he wielded an ax, saw and wedge in the hardwood, collecting + painfully—for his strength was not great—material for the + constant fires it was his duty to maintain. Often he would stand + motionless in the vast frozen, creaking forest, listening with awe to the + voices which spoke to him alone. There was something uncanny in the + misshapen dwarf with the fixed marble white face and the expressive + changing eyes,—something uncanny, and something indefinably + beautiful. + </p> + <p> + He seemed to possess an instinct which warned him of the approach of wild + animals. Long before a white man, or even an Indian, would have suspected + the presence of game, little Phil would lift his head with a peculiar + listening toss. Soon, stepping daintily through the snow near the swamp + edge, would come a deer; or pat-apat-patting on his broad hairy paws, a + lynx would steal by. Except Injin Charley, Phil was the only man in that + country who ever saw a beaver in the open daylight. + </p> + <p> + At camp sometimes when all the men were away and his own work was done, he + would crouch like a raccoon in the far corner of his deep square bunk with + the board ends that made of it a sort of little cabin, and play to himself + softly on his violin. No one ever heard him. After supper he was docilely + ready to fiddle to the men's dancing. Always then he gradually worked + himself to a certain pitch of excitement. His eyes glared with the + wolf-gleam, and the music was vulgarly atrocious and out of tune. + </p> + <p> + As Christmas drew near, the weather increased in severity. Blinding + snow-squalls swept whirling from the northeast, accompanied by a high + wind. The air was full of it,—fine, dry, powdery, like the dust of + glass. The men worked covered with it as a tree is covered after a sleet. + Sometimes it was impossible to work at all for hours at a time, but Thorpe + did not allow a bad morning to spoil a good afternoon. The instant a lull + fell on the storm, he was out with his scaling rule, and he expected the + men to give him something to scale. He grappled the fierce winter by the + throat, and shook from it the price of success. + </p> + <p> + Then came a succession of bright cold days and clear cold nights. The + aurora gleamed so brilliantly that the forest was as bright as by + moonlight. In the strange weird shadow cast by its waverings the wolves + stole silently, or broke into wild ululations as they struck the trail of + game. Except for these weird invaders, the silence of death fell on the + wilderness. Deer left the country. Partridges crouched trailing under the + snow. All the weak and timid creatures of the woods shrank into + concealment and silence before these fierce woods-marauders with the + glaring famine-struck eyes. + </p> + <p> + Injin Charley found his traps robbed. In return he constructed deadfalls, + and dried several scalps. When spring came, he would send them out for the + bounty In the night, from time to time, the horses would awake trembling + at an unknown terror. Then the long weird howl would shiver across the + starlight near at hand, and the chattering man who rose hastily to quiet + the horses' frantic kicking, would catch a glimpse of gaunt forms skirting + the edge of the forest. + </p> + <p> + And the little beagles were disconsolate, for their quarry had fled. In + place of the fan-shaped triangular trail for which they sought, they came + upon dog-like prints. These they sniffed at curiously, and then departed + growling, the hair on their backbones erect and stiff. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0032" id="link2HCH0032"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXXII + </h2> + <p> + By the end of the winter some four million feet of logs were piled in the + bed or upon the banks of the stream. To understand what that means, you + must imagine a pile of solid timber a mile in length. This tremendous mass + lay directly in the course of the stream. When the winter broke up, it had + to be separated and floated piecemeal down the current. The process is an + interesting and dangerous one, and one of great delicacy. It requires for + its successful completion picked men of skill, and demands as toll its + yearly quota of crippled and dead. While on the drive, men work fourteen + hours a day, up to their waists in water filled with floating ice. + </p> + <p> + On the Ossawinamakee, as has been stated, three dams had been erected to + simplify the process of driving. When the logs were in right distribution, + the gates were raised, and the proper head of water floated them down. + </p> + <p> + Now the river being navigable, Thorpe was possessed of certain rights on + it. Technically he was entitled to a normal head of water, whenever he + needed it; or a special head, according to agreement with the parties + owning the dam. Early in the drive, he found that Morrison & Daly + intended to cause him trouble. It began in a narrows of the river between + high, rocky banks. Thorpe's drive was floating through close-packed. The + situation was ticklish. Men with spiked boots ran here and there from one + bobbing log to another, pushing with their peaveys, hurrying one log, + retarding another, working like beavers to keep the whole mass straight. + The entire surface of the water was practically covered with the floating + timbers. A moment's reflection will show the importance of preserving a + full head of water. The moment the stream should drop an inch or so, its + surface would contract, the logs would then be drawn close together in the + narrow space; and, unless an immediate rise should lift them up and apart + from each other, a jam would form, behind which the water, rapidly + damming, would press to entangle it the more. + </p> + <p> + This is exactly what happened. In a moment, as though by magic, the loose + wooden carpet ground together. A log in the advance up-ended; another + thrust under it. The whole mass ground together, stopped, and began + rapidly to pile up. The men escaped to the shore in a marvellous manner of + their own. + </p> + <p> + Tim Shearer found that the gate at the dam above had been closed. The man + in charge had simply obeyed orders. He supposed M. & D. wished to back + up the water for their own logs. + </p> + <p> + Tim indulged in some picturesque language. + </p> + <p> + “You ain't got no right to close off more'n enough to leave us th' nat'ral + flow unless by agreement,” he concluded, and opened the gates. + </p> + <p> + Then it was a question of breaking the jam. This had to be done by pulling + out or chopping through certain “key” logs which locked the whole mass. + Men stood under the face of imminent ruin—over them a frowning sheer + wall of bristling logs, behind which pressed the weight of the rising + waters—and hacked and tugged calmly until the mass began to stir. + Then they escaped. A moment later, with a roar, the jam vomited down on + the spot where they had stood. It was dangerous work. Just one half day + later it had to be done again, and for the same reason. + </p> + <p> + This time Thorpe went back with Shearer. No one was at the dam, but the + gates were closed. The two opened them again. + </p> + <p> + That very evening a man rode up on horseback inquiring for Mr. Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “I'm he,” said the young fellow. + </p> + <p> + The man thereupon dismounted and served a paper. It proved to be an + injunction issued by Judge Sherman enjoining Thorpe against interfering + with the property of Morrison & Daly,—to wit, certain dams + erected at designated points on the Ossawinamakee. There had not elapsed + sufficient time since the commission of the offense for the other firm to + secure the issuance of this interesting document, so it was at once + evident that the whole affair had been pre-arranged by the up-river firm + for the purpose of blocking off Thorpe's drive. After serving the + injunction, the official rode away. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe called his foreman. The latter read the injunction attentively + through a pair of steel-bowed spectacles. + </p> + <p> + “Well, what you going to do?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Of all the consummate gall!” exploded Thorpe. “Trying to enjoin me from + touching a dam when they're refusing me the natural flow! They must have + bribed that fool judge. Why, his injunction isn't worth the powder to blow + it up!” + </p> + <p> + “Then you're all right, ain't ye?” inquired Tim. + </p> + <p> + “It'll be the middle of summer before we get a hearing in court,” said he. + “Oh, they're a cute layout! They expect to hang me up until it's too late + to do anything with the season's cut!” + </p> + <p> + He arose and began to pace back and forth. + </p> + <p> + “Tim,” said he, “is there a man in the crew who's afraid of nothing and + will obey orders?” + </p> + <p> + “A dozen,” replied Tim promptly. + </p> + <p> + “Who's the best?” + </p> + <p> + “Scotty Parsons.” + </p> + <p> + “Ask him to step here.” + </p> + <p> + In a moment the man entered the office. + </p> + <p> + “Scotty,” said Thorpe, “I want you to understand that I stand responsible + for whatever I order you to do.” + </p> + <p> + “All right, sir,” replied the man. + </p> + <p> + “In the morning,” said Thorpe, “you take two men and build some sort of a + shack right over the sluice-gate of that second dam,—nothing very + fancy, but good enough to camp in. I want you to live there day and night. + Never leave it, not even for a minute. The cookee will bring you grub. + Take this Winchester. If any of the men from up-river try to go out on the + dam, you warn them off. If they persist, you shoot near them. If they keep + coming, you shoot at them. Understand?” + </p> + <p> + “You bet,” answered Scotty with enthusiasm. + </p> + <p> + “All right,” concluded Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + Next day Scotty established himself, as had been agreed. He did not need + to shoot anybody. Daly himself came down to investigate the state of + affairs, when his men reported to him the occupancy of the dam. He + attempted to parley, but Scotty would have none of it. + </p> + <p> + “Get out!” was his first and last word. + </p> + <p> + Daly knew men. He was at the wrong end of the whip. Thorpe's game was + desperate, but so was his need, and this was a backwoods country a long + ways from the little technicalities of the law. It was one thing to serve + an injunction; another to enforce it. Thorpe finished his drive with no + more of the difficulties than ordinarily bother a riverman. + </p> + <p> + At the mouth of the river, booms of logs chained together at the ends had + been prepared. Into the enclosure the drive was floated and stopped. Then + a raft was formed by passing new manila ropes over the logs, to each one + of which the line was fastened by a hardwood forked pin driven astride of + it. A tug dragged the raft to Marquette. + </p> + <p> + Now Thorpe was summoned legally on two counts. First, Judge Sherman cited + him for contempt of court. Second, Morrison & Daly sued him for + alleged damages in obstructing their drive by holding open the dam-sluice + beyond the legal head of water. + </p> + <p> + Such is a brief but true account of the coup-de-force actually carried out + by Thorpe's lumbering firm in northern Michigan. It is better known to the + craft than to the public at large, because eventually the affair was + compromised. The manner of that compromise is to follow. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0033" id="link2HCH0033"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXXIII + </h2> + <p> + Pending the call of trial, Thorpe took a three weeks' vacation to visit + his sister. Time, filled with excitement and responsibility, had erased + from his mind the bitterness of their parting. He had before been too + busy, too grimly in earnest, to allow himself the luxury of anticipation. + Now he found himself so impatient that he could hardly wait to get there. + He pictured their meeting, the things they would say to each other. + </p> + <p> + As formerly, he learned on his arrival that she was not at home. It was + the penalty of an attempted surprise. Mrs. Renwick proved not nearly so + cordial as the year before; but Thorpe, absorbed in his eagerness, did not + notice it. If he had, he might have guessed the truth: that the long + propinquity of the fine and the commonplace, however safe at first from + the insulation of breeding and natural kindliness, was at last beginning + to generate sparks. + </p> + <p> + No, Mrs. Renwick did not know where Helen was: thought she had gone over + to the Hughes's. The Hughes live two blocks down the street and three to + the right, in a brown house back from the street. Very well, then; she + would expect Mr. Thorpe to spend the night. + </p> + <p> + The latter wandered slowly down the charming driveways of the little + western town. The broad dusty street was brown with sprinkling from + numberless garden hose. A double row of big soft maples met over it, and + shaded the sidewalk and part of the wide lawns. The grass was fresh and + green. Houses with capacious verandas on which were glimpsed easy chairs + and hammocks, sent forth a mild glow from a silk-shaded lamp or two. + Across the evening air floated the sounds of light conversation and + laughter from these verandas, the tinkle of a banjo, the thrum of a + guitar. Automatic sprinklers whirled and hummed here and there. Their + delicious artificial coolness struck refreshingly against the cheek. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe found the Hughes residence without difficulty, and turned up the + straight walk to the veranda. On the steps of the latter a rug had been + spread. A dozen youths and maidens lounged in well-bred ease on its soft + surface. The gleam of white summer dresses, of variegated outing clothes, + the rustle o frocks, the tinkle of low, well-bred laughter confused + Thorpe, so that, as he approached the light from a tall lamp just inside + the hall, he hesitated, vainly trying to make out the figures before him. + </p> + <p> + So it was that Helen Thorpe saw him first, and came fluttering to meet + him. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Harry! What a surprise!” she cried, and flung her arms about his neck + to kiss him. + </p> + <p> + “How do you do, Helen,” he replied sedately. + </p> + <p> + This was the meeting he had anticipated so long. The presence of others + brought out in him, irresistibly, the repression of public display which + was so strong an element of his character. + </p> + <p> + A little chilled, Helen turned to introduce him to her friends. In the + cold light of her commonplace reception she noticed what in a warmer + effusion of feelings she would never have seen,—that her brother's + clothes were out of date and worn; and that, though his carriage was + notably strong and graceful, the trifling constraint and dignity of his + younger days had become almost an awkwardness after two years among + uncultivated men. It occurred to Helen to be just a little ashamed of him. + </p> + <p> + He took a place on the steps and sat without saying a word all the + evening. There was nothing for him to say. These young people talked + thoughtlessly, as young people do, of the affairs belonging to their own + little circle. Thorpe knew nothing of the cotillion, or the brake ride, or + of the girl who visited Alice Southerland; all of which gave occasion for + so much lively comment. Nor was the situation improved when some of them, + in a noble effort at politeness, turned the conversation into more general + channels. The topics of the day's light talk were absolutely unknown to + him. The plays, the new books, the latest popular songs, jokes depending + for their point on an intimate knowledge of the prevailing vaudeville + mode, were as unfamiliar to him as Miss Alice Southerland's guest. He had + thought pine and forest and the trail so long, that he found these + square-elbowed subjects refusing to be jostled aside by any trivialities. + </p> + <p> + So he sat there silent in the semi-darkness. This man, whose lightest + experience would have aroused the eager attention of the entire party, + held his peace because he thought he had nothing to say. + </p> + <p> + He took Helen back to Mrs. Renwick's about ten o'clock. They walked slowly + beneath the broad-leaved maples, whose shadows danced under the tall + electric lights,—and talked. + </p> + <p> + Helen was an affectionate, warm-hearted girl. Ordinarily she would have + been blind to everything except the delight of having her brother once + more with her. But his apparently cold reception had first chilled, then + thrown her violently into a critical mood. His subsequent social + inadequacy had settled her into the common-sense level of everyday life. + </p> + <p> + “How have you done, Harry?” she inquired anxiously. “Your letters have + been so vague.” + </p> + <p> + “Pretty well,” he replied. “If things go right, I hope some day to have a + better place for you than this.” + </p> + <p> + Her heart contracted suddenly. It was all she could do to keep from + bursting into tears. One would have to realize perfectly her youth, the + life to which she had been accustomed, the lack of encouragement she had + labored under, the distastefulness of her surroundings, the pent-up dogged + patience she had displayed during the last two years, the hopeless feeling + of battering against a brick wall she always experienced when she received + the replies to her attempts on Harry's confidence, to appreciate how the + indefiniteness of his answer exasperated her and filled her with sullen + despair. She said nothing for twenty steps. Then: + </p> + <p> + “Harry,” she said quietly, “can't you take me away from Mrs. Renwick's + this year?” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know, Helen. I can't tell yet. Not just now, at any rate.” + </p> + <p> + “Harry,” she cried, “you don't know what you're doing. I tell you I can't + STAND Mrs. Renwick any longer.” She calmed herself with an effort, and + went on more quietly. “Really, Harry, she's awfully disagreeable. If you + can't afford to keep me anywhere else—” she glanced timidly at his + face and for the first time saw the strong lines about the jaw and the + tiny furrows between the eyebrows. “I know you've worked hard, Harry + dear,” she said with a sudden sympathy, “and that you'd give me more, if + you could. But so have I worked hard. Now we ought to change this in some + way. I can get a position as teacher, or some other work somewhere. Won't + you let me do that?” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe was thinking that it would be easy enough to obtain Wallace + Carpenter's consent to his taking a thousand dollars from the profits of + the year. But he knew also that the struggle in the courts might need + every cent the new company could spare. It would look much better were he + to wait until after the verdict. If favorable, there would be no + difficulty about sparing the money. If adverse, there would be no money to + spare. The latter contingency he did not seriously anticipate, but still + it had to be considered. And so, until the thing was absolutely certain, + he hesitated to explain the situation to Helen for fear of disappointing + her! + </p> + <p> + “I think you'd better wait, Helen,” said he. “There'll be time enough for + all that later when it becomes necessary. You are very young yet, and it + will not hurt you a bit to continue your education for a little while + longer.” + </p> + <p> + “And in the meantime stay with Mrs. Renwick?” flashed Helen. + </p> + <p> + “Yes. I hope it will not have to be for very long.” + </p> + <p> + “How long do you think, Harry?” pleaded the girl. + </p> + <p> + “That depends on circumstances,” replied Thorpe + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” she cried indignantly. + </p> + <p> + “Harry,” she ventured after a time, “why not write to Uncle Amos?” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe stopped and looked at her searchingly. + </p> + <p> + “You can't mean that, Helen,” he said, drawing a long breath. + </p> + <p> + “But why not?” she persisted. + </p> + <p> + “You ought to know.” + </p> + <p> + “Who would have done any different? If you had a brother and discovered + that he had—appropriated—most all the money of a concern of + which you were president, wouldn't you think it your duty to have him + arrested?” + </p> + <p> + “No!” cried Thorpe suddenly excited. “Never! If he was my brother, I'd + help him, even if he'd committed murder!” + </p> + <p> + “We differ there,” replied the girl coldly. “I consider that Uncle Amos + was a strong man who did his duty as he saw it, in spite of his feelings. + That he had father arrested is nothing against him in my eyes. And his + wanting us to come to him since, seems to me very generous. I am going to + write to him.” + </p> + <p> + “You will do nothing of the kind,” commanded Thorpe sternly. “Amos Thorpe + is an unscrupulous man who became unscrupulously rich. He deliberately + used our father as a tool, and then destroyed him. I consider that anyone + of our family who would have anything to do with him is a traitor!” + </p> + <p> + The girl did not reply. + </p> + <p> + Next morning Thorpe felt uneasily repentant for his strong language. After + all, the girl did lead a monotonous life, and he could not blame her for + rebelling against it from time to time. Her remarks had been born of the + rebellion; they had meant nothing in themselves. He could not doubt for a + moment her loyalty to the family. + </p> + <p> + But he did not tell her so. That is not the way of men of his stamp. + Rather he cast about to see what he could do. + </p> + <p> + Injin Charley had, during the winter just past, occupied odd moments in + embroidering with beads and porcupine quills a wonderful outfit of soft + buckskin gauntlets, a shirt of the same material, and moccasins of + moose-hide. They were beautifully worked, and Thorpe, on receiving them, + had at once conceived the idea of giving them to his sister. To this end + he had consulted another Indian near Marquette, to whom he had confided + the task of reducing the gloves and moccasins. The shirt would do as it + was, for it was intended to be worn as a sort of belted blouse. As has + been said, all were thickly beaded, and represented a vast quantity of + work. Probably fifty dollars could not have bought them, even in the north + country. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe tendered this as a peace offering. Not understanding women in the + least, he was surprised to see his gift received by a burst of tears and a + sudden exit from the room. Helen thought he had bought the things; and she + was still sore from the pinch of the poverty she had touched the evening + before. Nothing will exasperate a woman more than to be presented with + something expensive for which she does not particularly care, after being + denied, on the ground of economy, something she wants very much. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe stared after her in hurt astonishment. Mrs. Renwick sniffed. + </p> + <p> + That afternoon the latter estimable lady attempted to reprove Miss Helen, + and was snubbed; she persisted, and an open quarrel ensued. + </p> + <p> + “I will not be dictated to by you, Mrs. Renwick,” said Helen, “and I don't + intend to have you interfere in any way with my family affairs.” + </p> + <p> + “They won't stand MUCH investigation,” replied Mrs. Renwick, goaded out of + her placidity. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe entered to hear the last two speeches. He said nothing, but that + night he wrote to Wallace Carpenter for a thousand dollars. Every stroke + of the pen hurt him. But of course Helen could not stay here now. + </p> + <p> + “And to think, just to THINK that he let that woman insult me so, and + didn't say a word!” cried Helen to herself. + </p> + <p> + Her method would have been to have acted irrevocably on the spot, and + sought ways and means afterwards. Thorpe's, however, was to perfect all + his plans before making the first step. + </p> + <p> + Wallace Carpenter was not in town. Before the letter had followed him to + his new address, and the answer had returned, a week had passed. Of course + the money was gladly put at Thorpe's disposal. The latter at once + interviewed his sister. + </p> + <p> + “Helen,” he said, “I have made arrangements for some money. What would you + like to do this year?” + </p> + <p> + She raised her head and looked at him with clear bright gaze. If he could + so easily raise the money, why had he not done so before? He knew how much + she wanted it. Her happiness did not count. Only when his quixotic ideas + of family honor were attacked did he bestir himself. + </p> + <p> + “I am going to Uncle Amos's,” she replied distinctly. + </p> + <p> + “What?” asked Thorpe incredulously. + </p> + <p> + For answer she pointed to a letter lying open on the table. Thorpe took it + and read: + </p> + <p> + “My dear Niece: + </p> + <p> + “Both Mrs. Thorpe and myself more than rejoice that time and reflection + have removed that, I must confess, natural prejudice which the unfortunate + family affair, to which I will not allude, raised in your mind against us. + As we said long ago, our home is your's when you may wish to make it so. + You state your present readiness to come immediately. Unless you wire to + the contrary, we shall expect you next Tuesday evening on the four-forty + train. I shall be at the Central Station myself to meet you. If your + brother is now with you, I should be pleased to see him also, and will be + most happy to give him a position with the firm. + </p> + <p> + “Aff. your uncle, + </p> + <p> + “Amos Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “New York, June 6, 1883.” + </p> + <p> + On finishing the last paragraph the reader crumpled the letter and threw + it into the grate. + </p> + <p> + “I am sorry you did that, Helen,” said he, “but I don't blame you, and it + can't be helped. We won't need to take advantage of his 'kind offer' now.” + </p> + <p> + “I intend to do so, however,” replied the girl coldly. + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean?” + </p> + <p> + “I mean,” she cried, “that I am sick of waiting on your good pleasure. I + waited, and slaved, and stood unbearable things for two years. I did it + cheerfully. And in return I don't get a civil word, not a decent + explanation, not even a—caress,” she fairly sobbed out the last + word. “I can't stand it any longer. I have tried and tried and tried, and + then when I've come to you for the littlest word of encouragement, you + have pecked at me with those stingy little kisses, and have told me I was + young and ought to finish my education. You put me in uncongenial + surroundings, and go off into the woods camping yourself. You refuse me + money enough to live in a three-dollar boarding-house, and you buy + expensive rifles and fishing tackle for yourself. You can't afford to send + me away somewhere for the summer, but you bring me back gee-gaws you have + happened to fancy, worth a month's board in the country. You haven't a + cent when it is a question of what I want; but you raise money quick + enough when your old family is insulted. Isn't it my family too? And then + you blame me because, after waiting in vain two years for you to do + something, I start out to do the best I can for myself. I'm not of age but + you're not my guardian!” + </p> + <p> + During this long speech Thorpe had stood motionless, growing paler and + paler. Like most noble natures, when absolutely in the right, he was + incapable of defending himself against misunderstandings. He was too + wounded; he was hurt to the soul. + </p> + <p> + “You know that is not true, Helen,” he replied, almost sternly. + </p> + <p> + “It IS true!” she asseverated, “and I'm THROUGH!” + </p> + <p> + “It's a little hard,” said Thorpe passing his hand wearily before his + eyes, “to work hard this way for years, and then—” + </p> + <p> + She laughed with a hard little note of scorn. + </p> + <p> + “Helen,” said Thorpe with new energy, “I forbid you to have anything to do + with Amos Thorpe. I think he is a scoundrel and a sneak.” + </p> + <p> + “What grounds have you to think so?” + </p> + <p> + “None,” he confessed, “that is, nothing definite. But I know men; and I + know his type. Some day I shall be able to prove something. I do not wish + you to have anything to do with him.” + </p> + <p> + “I shall do as I please,” she replied, crossing her hands behind her. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe's eyes darkened. + </p> + <p> + “We have talked this over a great many times,” he warned, “and you've + always agreed with me. Remember, you owe something to the family.” + </p> + <p> + “Most of the family seem to owe something,” she replied with a flippant + laugh. “I'm sure I didn't choose the family. If I had, I'd have picked out + a better one!” + </p> + <p> + The flippancy was only a weapon which she used unconsciously, blindly, in + her struggle. The man could not know this. His face hardened, and his + voice grew cold. + </p> + <p> + “You may take your choice, Helen,” he said formally. “If you go into the + household of Amos Thorpe, if you deliberately prefer your comfort to your + honor, we will have nothing more in common.” + </p> + <p> + They faced each other with the cool, deadly glance of the race, so similar + in appearance but so unlike in nature. + </p> + <p> + “I, too, offer you a home, such as it is,” repeated the man. “Choose!” + </p> + <p> + At the mention of the home for which means were so quickly forthcoming + when Thorpe, not she, considered it needful, the girl's eyes flashed. She + stooped and dragged violently from beneath the bed a flat steamer trunk, + the lid of which she threw open. A dress lay on the bed. With a fine + dramatic gesture she folded the garment and laid it in the bottom of the + trunk. Then she knelt, and without vouchsafing another glance at her + brother standing rigid by the door, she began feverishly to arrange the + folds. + </p> + <p> + The choice was made. He turned and went out. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0034" id="link2HCH0034"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXXIV + </h2> + <p> + With Thorpe there could be no half-way measure. He saw that the rupture + with his sister was final, and the thrust attained him in one of his few + unprotected points. It was not as though he felt either himself or his + sister consciously in the wrong. He acquitted her of all fault, except as + to the deadly one of misreading and misunderstanding. The fact argued not + a perversion but a lack in her character. She was other than he had + thought her. + </p> + <p> + As for himself, he had schemed, worked, lived only for her. He had come to + her from the battle expecting rest and refreshment. To the world he had + shown the hard, unyielding front of the unemotional; he had looked ever + keenly outward; he had braced his muscles in the constant tension of + endeavor. So much the more reason why, in the hearts of the few he loved, + he, the man of action, should find repose; the man of sternness, should + discover that absolute peace of the spirit in which not the slightest + motion of the will is necessary, the man of repression should be permitted + affectionate, care-free expansion of the natural affection, of the full + sympathy which will understand and not mistake for weakness. Instead of + this, he was forced into refusing where he would rather have given; into + denying where he would rather have assented; and finally into commanding + where he longed most ardently to lay aside the cloak of authority. His + motives were misread; his intentions misjudged; his love doubted. + </p> + <p> + But worst of all, Thorpe's mind could see no possibility of an + explanation. If she could not see of her own accord how much he loved her, + surely it was a hopeless task to attempt an explanation through mere + words. If, after all, she was capable of misconceiving the entire set of + his motives during the past two years, expostulation would be futile. In + his thoughts of her he fell into a great spiritual dumbness. Never, even + in his moments of most theoretical imaginings, did he see himself setting + before her fully and calmly the hopes and ambitions of which she had been + the mainspring. And before a reconciliation, many such rehearsals must + take place in the secret recesses of a man's being. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe did not cry out, nor confide in a friend, nor do anything even so + mild as pacing the floor. The only outward and visible sign a close + observer might have noted was a certain dumb pain lurking in the depths of + his eyes like those of a wounded spaniel. He was hurt, but did not + understand. He suffered in silence, but without anger. This is at once the + noblest and the most pathetic of human suffering. + </p> + <p> + At first the spring of his life seemed broken. He did not care for money; + and at present disappointment had numbed his interest in the game. It + seemed hardly worth the candle. + </p> + <p> + Then in a few days, after his thoughts had ceased to dwell constantly on + the one subject, he began to look about him mentally. Beneath his other + interests he still felt constantly a dull ache, something unpleasant, + uncomfortable. Strangely enough it was almost identical in quality with + the uneasiness that always underlay his surface-thoughts when he was + worried about some detail of his business. Unconsciously,—again as + in his business,—the combative instinct aroused. In lack of other + object on which to expend itself, Thorpe's fighting spirit turned with + energy to the subject of the lawsuit. + </p> + <p> + Under the unwonted stress of the psychological condition just described, + he thought at white heat. His ideas were clear, and followed each other + quickly, almost feverishly. + </p> + <p> + After his sister left the Renwicks, Thorpe himself went to Detroit, where + he interviewed at once Northrop, the brilliant young lawyer whom the firm + had engaged to defend its case. + </p> + <p> + “I'm afraid we have no show,” he replied to Thorpe's question. “You see, + you fellows were on the wrong side of the fence in trying to enforce the + law yourselves. Of course you may well say that justice was all on your + side. That does not count. The only recourse recognized for injustice lies + in the law courts. I'm afraid you are due to lose your case.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Thorpe, “they can't prove much damage.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't expect that they will be able to procure a very heavy judgment,” + replied Northrop. “The facts I shall be able to adduce will cut down + damages. But the costs will be very heavy.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” agreed Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “And,” then pursued Northrop with a dry smile, “they practically own + Sherman. You may be in for contempt of court at their instigation. As I + understand it, they are trying rather to injure you than to get anything + out of it themselves.” + </p> + <p> + “That's it,” nodded Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “In other words, it's a case for compromise.” + </p> + <p> + “Just what I wanted to get at,” said Thorpe with satisfaction. “Now answer + me a question. Suppose a man injures Government or State land by trespass. + The land is afterwards bought by another party. Has the latter any claim + for damage against the trespasser? Understand me, the purchaser bought + AFTER the trespass was committed.” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly,” answered Northrop without hesitation. + </p> + <p> + “Provided suit is brought within six years of the time the trespass was + committed.” + </p> + <p> + “Good! Now see here. These M. & D. people stole about a section of + Government pine up on that river, and I don't believe they've ever bought + in the land it stood on. In fact I don't believe they suspect that anyone + knows they've been stealing. How would it do, if I were to buy that + section at the Land Office, and threaten to sue them for the value of the + pine that originally stood on it?” + </p> + <p> + The lawyer's eyes glimmered behind the lenses of his pince-nez; but, with + the caution of the professional man he made no other sign of satisfaction. + </p> + <p> + “It would do very well indeed,” he replied, “but you'd have to prove they + did the cutting, and you'll have to pay experts to estimate the probable + amount of the timber. Have you the description of the section?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” responded Thorpe, “but I can get it; and I can pick up witnesses + from the woodsmen as to the cutting.” + </p> + <p> + “The more the better. It is rather easy to discredit the testimony of one + or two. How much, on a broad guess, would you estimate the timber to come + to?” + </p> + <p> + “There ought to be about eight or ten million,” guessed Thorpe after an + instant's silence, “worth in the stump anywhere from sixteen to twenty + thousand dollars. It would cost me only eight hundred to buy it.” + </p> + <p> + “Do so, by all means. Get your documents and evidence all in shape, and + let me have them. I'll see that the suit is discontinued then. Will you + sue them?” + </p> + <p> + “No, I think not,” replied Thorpe. “I'll just hold it back as a sort of + club to keep them in line.” + </p> + <p> + The next day, he took the train north. He had something definite and + urgent to do, and, as always with practical affairs demanding attention + and resource, he threw himself whole-souled into the accomplishment of it. + By the time he had bought the sixteen forties constituting the section, + searched out a dozen witnesses to the theft, and spent a week with the + Marquette expert in looking over the ground, he had fallen into the swing + of work again. His experience still ached; but dully. + </p> + <p> + Only now he possessed no interests outside of those in the new country; no + affections save the half-protecting, good-natured comradeship with + Wallace, the mutual self-reliant respect that subsisted between Tim + Shearer and himself, and the dumb, unreasoning dog-liking he shared with + Injin Charley. His eye became clearer and steadier; his methods more + simple and direct. The taciturnity of his mood redoubled in thickness. He + was less charitable to failure on the part of subordinates. And the new + firm on the Ossawinamakee prospered. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0035" id="link2HCH0035"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXXV + </h2> + <p> + Five years passed. + </p> + <p> + In that time Thorpe had succeeded in cutting a hundred million feet of + pine. The money received for this had all been turned back into the + Company's funds. From a single camp of twenty-five men with ten horses and + a short haul of half a mile, the concern had increased to six large, + well-equipped communities of eighty to a hundred men apiece, using nearly + two hundred horses, and hauling as far as eight or nine miles. + </p> + <p> + Near the port stood a mammoth sawmill capable of taking care of twenty-two + million feet a year, about which a lumber town had sprung up. Lake + schooners lay in a long row during the summer months, while busy loaders + passed the planks from one to the other into the deep holds. Besides its + original holding, the company had acquired about a hundred and fifty + million more, back near the headwaters of tributaries to the + Ossawinamakee. In the spring and early summer months, the drive was a + wonderful affair. + </p> + <p> + During the four years in which the Morrison & Daly Company shared the + stream with Thorpe, the two firms lived in complete amity and + understanding. Northrop had played his cards skillfully. The older + capitalists had withdrawn suit. Afterwards they kept scrupulously within + their rights, and saw to it that no more careless openings were left for + Thorpe's shrewdness. They were keen enough business men, but had made the + mistake, common enough to established power, of underrating the strength + of an apparently insignificant opponent. Once they understood Thorpe's + capacity, that young man had no more chance to catch them napping. + </p> + <p> + And as the younger man, on his side, never attempted to overstep his own + rights, the interests of the rival firms rarely clashed. As to the few + disputes that did arise, Thorpe found Mr. Daly singularly anxious to + please. In the desire was no friendliness, however. Thorpe was watchful + for treachery, and could hardly believe the affair finished when at the + end of the fourth year the M. & D. sold out the remainder of its pine + to a firm from Manistee, and transferred its operations to another stream + a few miles east, where it had acquired more considerable holdings. + </p> + <p> + “They're altogether too confounded anxious to help us on that freight, + Wallace,” said Thorpe wrinkling his brow uneasily. “I don't like it. It + isn't natural.” + </p> + <p> + “No,” laughed Wallace, “neither is it natural for a dog to draw a sledge. + But he does it—when he has to. They're afraid of you, Harry: that's + all.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe shook his head, but had to acknowledge that he could evidence no + grounds for his mistrust. + </p> + <p> + The conversation took place at Camp One, which was celebrated in three + states. Thorpe had set out to gather around him a band of good woodsmen. + Except on a pinch he would employ no others. + </p> + <p> + “I don't care if I get in only two thousand feet this winter, and if a boy + does that,” he answered Shearer's expostulations, “it's got to be a good + boy.” + </p> + <p> + The result of his policy began to show even in the second year. Men were a + little proud to say that they had put in a winter at “Thorpe's One.” Those + who had worked there during the first year were loyally enthusiastic over + their boss's grit and resourcefulness, their camp's order, their cook's + good “grub.” As they were authorities, others perforce had to accept the + dictum. There grew a desire among the better class to see what Thorpe's + “One” might be like. In the autumn Harry had more applicants than he knew + what to do with. Eighteen of the old men returned. He took them all, but + when it came to distribution, three found themselves assigned to one or + the other of the new camps. And quietly the rumor gained that these three + had shown the least willing spirit during the previous winter. The other + fifteen were sobered to the industry which their importance as veterans + might have impaired. + </p> + <p> + Tim Shearer was foreman of Camp One; Scotty Parsons was drafted from the + veterans to take charge of Two; Thorpe engaged two men known to Tim to + boss Three and Four. But in selecting the “push” for Five he displayed + most strikingly his keen appreciation of a man's relation to his + environment. He sought out John Radway and induced him to accept the + commission. + </p> + <p> + “You can do it, John,” said he, “and I know it. I want you to try; and if + you don't make her go, I'll call it nobody's fault but my own.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't see how you dare risk it, after that Cass Branch deal, Mr. + Thorpe,” replied Radway, almost brokenly. “But I would like to tackle it, + I'm dead sick of loafing. Sometimes it seems like I'd die, if I don't get + out in the woods again.” + </p> + <p> + “We'll call it a deal, then,” answered Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + The result proved his sagacity. Radway was one of the best foremen in the + outfit. He got more out of his men, he rose better to emergencies, and he + accomplished more with the same resources than any of the others, + excepting Tim Shearer. As long as the work was done for someone else, he + was capable and efficient. Only when he was called upon to demand on his + own account, did the paralyzing shyness affect him. + </p> + <p> + But the one feature that did more to attract the very best element among + woodsmen, and so make possible the practice of Thorpe's theory of success, + was Camp One. The men's accommodations at the other five were no different + and but little better than those in a thousand other typical lumber camps + of both peninsulas. They slept in box-like bunks filled with hay or straw + over which blankets were spread; they sat on a narrow hard bench or on the + floor; they read by the dim light of a lamp fastened against the big cross + beam; they warmed themselves at a huge iron stove in the center of the + room around which suspended wires and poles offered space for the drying + of socks; they washed their clothes when the mood struck them. It was warm + and comparatively clean. But it was dark, without ornament, cheerless. + </p> + <p> + The lumber-jack never expects anything different. In fact, if he were + pampered to the extent of ordinary comforts, he would be apt at once to + conclude himself indispensable; whereupon he would become worthless. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe, however, spent a little money—not much—and transformed + Camp One. Every bunk was provided with a tick, which the men could fill + with hay, balsam, or hemlock, as suited them. Cheap but attractive + curtains on wires at once brightened the room and shut each man's + “bedroom” from the main hall. The deacon seat remained but was + supplemented by a half-dozen simple and comfortable chairs. In the center + of the room stood a big round table over which glowed two hanging lamps. + The table was littered with papers and magazines. Home life was still + further suggested by a canary bird in a gilt cage, a sleepy cat, and two + pots of red geraniums. Thorpe had further imported a washerwoman who dwelt + in a separate little cabin under the hill. She washed the men's belongings + at twenty-five cents a week, which amount Thorpe deducted from each man's + wages, whether he had the washing done or not. This encouraged + cleanliness. Phil scrubbed out every day, while the men were in the woods. + </p> + <p> + Such was Thorpe's famous Camp One in the days of its splendor. Old + woodsmen will still tell you about it, with a longing reminiscent glimmer + in the corners of their eyes as they recall its glories and the men who + worked in it. To have “put in” a winter in Camp One was the mark of a + master; and the ambition of every raw recruit to the forest. Probably + Thorpe's name is remembered to-day more on account of the intrepid, + skillful, loyal men his strange genius gathered about it, than for the + herculean feat of having carved a great fortune from the wilderness in but + five years' time. + </p> + <p> + But Camp One was a privilege. A man entered it only after having proved + himself; he remained in it only as long as his efficiency deserved the + honor. Its members were invariably recruited from one of the other four + camps; never from applicants who had not been in Thorpe's employ. A raw + man was sent to Scotty, or Jack Hyland, or Radway, or Kerlie. There he was + given a job, if he happened to suit, and men were needed. By and by, + perhaps, when a member of Camp One fell sick or was given his time, Tim + Shearer would send word to one of the other five that he needed an axman + or a sawyer, or a loader, or teamster, as the case might be. The best man + in the other camps was sent up. + </p> + <p> + So Shearer was foreman of a picked crew. Probably no finer body of men was + ever gathered at one camp. In them one could study at his best the + American pioneer. It was said at that time that you had never seen logging + done as it should be until you had visited Thorpe's Camp One on the + Ossawinamakee. + </p> + <p> + Of these men Thorpe demanded one thing—success. He tried never to + ask of them anything he did not believe to be thoroughly possible; but he + expected always that in some manner, by hook or crook, they would carry + the affair through. No matter how good the excuse, it was never accepted. + Accidents would happen, there as elsewhere; a way to arrive in spite of + them always exists, if only a man is willing to use his wits, unflagging + energy, and time. Bad luck is a reality; but much of what is called bad + luck is nothing but a want of careful foresight, and Thorpe could better + afford to be harsh occasionally to the genuine for the sake of eliminating + the false. If a man failed, he left Camp One. + </p> + <p> + The procedure was very simple. Thorpe never explained his reasons even to + Shearer. + </p> + <p> + “Ask Tom to step in a moment,” he requested of the latter. + </p> + <p> + “Tom,” he said to that individual, “I think I can use you better at Four. + Report to Kerlie there.” + </p> + <p> + And strangely enough, few even of these proud and independent men ever + asked for their time, or preferred to quit rather than to work up again to + the glories of their prize camp. + </p> + <p> + For while new recruits were never accepted at Camp One, neither was a man + ever discharged there. He was merely transferred to one of the other + foremen. + </p> + <p> + It is necessary to be thus minute in order that the reader may understand + exactly the class of men Thorpe had about his immediate person. Some of + them had the reputation of being the hardest citizens in three States, + others were mild as turtle doves. They were all pioneers. They had the + independence, the unabashed eye, the insubordination even, of the man who + has drawn his intellectual and moral nourishment at the breast of a wild + nature. They were afraid of nothing alive. From no one, were he chore-boy + or president, would they take a single word—with the exception + always of Tim Shearer and Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + The former they respected because in their picturesque guild he was a + master craftsman. The latter they adored and quoted and fought for in + distant saloons, because he represented to them their own ideal, what they + would be if freed from the heavy gyves of vice and executive incapacity + that weighed them down. + </p> + <p> + And they were loyal. It was a point of honor with them to stay “until the + last dog was hung.” He who deserted in the hour of need was not only a + renegade, but a fool. For he thus earned a magnificent licking if ever he + ran up against a member of the “Fighting Forty.” A band of soldiers they + were, ready to attempt anything their commander ordered, devoted, + enthusiastically admiring. And, it must be confessed, they were also + somewhat on the order of a band of pirates. Marquette thought so each + spring after the drive, when, hat-tilted, they surged swearing and + shouting down to Denny Hogan's saloon. Denny had to buy new fixtures when + they went away; but it was worth it. + </p> + <p> + Proud! it was no name for it. Boast! the fame of Camp One spread abroad + over the land, and was believed in to about twenty per cent of the + anecdotes detailed of it—which was near enough the actual truth. + Anecdotes disbelieved, the class of men from it would have given it a + reputation. The latter was varied enough, in truth. Some people thought + Camp One must be a sort of hell-hole of roaring, fighting devils. Others + sighed and made rapid calculations of the number of logs they could put + in, if only they could get hold of help like that. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe himself, of course, made his headquarters at Camp One. Thence he + visited at least once a week all the other camps, inspecting the minutest + details, not only of the work, but of the everyday life. For this purpose + he maintained a light box sleigh and pair of bays, though often, when the + snow became deep, he was forced to snowshoes. + </p> + <p> + During the five years he had never crossed the Straits of Mackinaw. The + rupture with his sister had made repugnant to him all the southern + country. He preferred to remain in the woods. All winter long he was more + than busy at his logging. Summers he spent at the mill. Occasionally he + visited Marquette, but always on business. He became used to seeing only + the rough faces of men. The vision of softer graces and beauties lost its + distinctness before this strong, hardy northland, whose gentler moods were + like velvet over iron, or like its own summer leaves veiling the eternal + darkness of the pines. + </p> + <p> + He was happy because he was too busy to be anything else. The insistent + need of success which he had created for himself, absorbed all other + sentiments. He demanded it of others rigorously. He could do no less than + demand it of himself. It had practically become one of his tenets of + belief. The chief end of any man, as he saw it, was to do well and + successfully what his life found ready. Anything to further this + fore-ordained activity was good; anything else was bad. These thoughts, + aided by a disposition naturally fervent and single in purpose, + hereditarily ascetic and conscientious—for his mother was of old New + England stock—gave to him in the course of six years' striving a + sort of daily and familiar religion to which he conformed his life. + </p> + <p> + Success, success, success. Nothing could be of more importance. Its + attainment argued a man's efficiency in the Scheme of Things, his worthy + fulfillment of the end for which a divine Providence had placed him on + earth. Anything that interfered with it—personal comfort, + inclination, affection, desire, love of ease, individual liking,—was + bad. + </p> + <p> + Luckily for Thorpe's peace of mind, his habit of looking on men as things + helped him keep to this attitude of mind. His lumbermen were tools,—good, + sharp, efficient tools, to be sure, but only because he had made them so. + Their loyalty aroused in his breast no pride nor gratitude. He expected + loyalty. He would have discharged at once a man who did not show it. The + same with zeal, intelligence, effort—they were the things he took + for granted. As for the admiration and affection which the Fighting Forty + displayed for him personally, he gave not a thought to it. And the men + knew it, and loved him the more from the fact. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe cared for just three people, and none of them happened to clash + with his machine. They were Wallace Carpenter, little Phil, and Injin + Charley. + </p> + <p> + Wallace, for reasons already explained at length, was always personally + agreeable to Thorpe. Latterly, since the erection of the mill, he had + developed unexpected acumen in the disposal of the season's cut to + wholesale dealers in Chicago. Nothing could have been better for the firm. + Thereafter he was often in the woods, both for pleasure and to get his + partner's ideas on what the firm would have to offer. The entire + responsibility at the city end of the business was in his hands. + </p> + <p> + Injin Charley continued to hunt and trap in the country round about. + Between him and Thorpe had grown a friendship the more solid in that its + increase had been mysteriously without outward cause. Once or twice a + month the lumberman would snowshoe down to the little cabin at the forks. + Entering, he would nod briefly and seat himself on a cracker-box. + </p> + <p> + “How do, Charley,” said he. + </p> + <p> + “How do,” replied Charley. + </p> + <p> + They filled pipes and smoked. At rare intervals one of them made a remark, + tersely, + </p> + <p> + “Catch um three beaver las' week,” remarked Charley. + </p> + <p> + “Good haul,” commented Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + Or: + </p> + <p> + “I saw a mink track by the big boulder,” offered Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “H'm!” responded Charley in a long-drawn falsetto whine. + </p> + <p> + Yet somehow the men came to know each other better and better; and each + felt that in an emergency he could depend on the other to the uttermost in + spite of the difference in race. + </p> + <p> + As for Phil, he was like some strange, shy animal, retaining all its wild + instincts, but led by affection to become domestic. He drew the water, cut + the wood, none better. In the evening he played atrociously his violin—none + worse—bending his great white brow forward with the wolf-glare in + his eyes, swaying his shoulders with a fierce delight in the subtle + dissonances, the swaggering exactitude of time, the vulgar rendition of + the horrible tunes he played. And often he went into the forest and gazed + wondering through his liquid poet's eyes at occult things. Above all, he + worshipped Thorpe. And in turn the lumberman accorded him a good-natured + affection. He was as indispensable to Camp One as the beagles. + </p> + <p> + And the beagles were most indispensable. No one could have got along + without them. In the course of events and natural selection they had + increased to eleven. At night they slept in the men's camp underneath or + very near the stove. By daylight in the morning they were clamoring at the + door. Never had they caught a hare. Never for a moment did their hopes + sink. The men used sometimes to amuse themselves by refusing the requested + exit. The little dogs agonized. They leaped and yelped, falling over each + other like a tangle of angleworms. Then finally, when the door at last + flung wide, they precipitated themselves eagerly and silently through the + opening. A few moments later a single yelp rose in the direction of the + swamp; the band took up the cry. From then until dark the glade was + musical with baying. At supper time they returned straggling, their + expression pleased, six inches of red tongue hanging from the corners of + their mouths, ravenously ready for supper. + </p> + <p> + Strangely enough the big white hares never left the swamp. Perhaps the + same one was never chased two days in succession. Or it is possible that + the quarry enjoyed the harmless game as much as did the little dogs. + </p> + <p> + Once only while the snow lasted was the hunt abandoned for a few days. + Wallace Carpenter announced his intention of joining forces with the + diminutive hounds. + </p> + <p> + “It's a shame, so it is, doggies!” he laughed at the tried pack. “We'll + get one to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + So he took his shotgun to the swamp, and after a half hour's wait, + succeeded in killing the hare. From that moment he was the hero of those + ecstacized canines. They tangled about him everywhere. He hardly dared + take a step for fear of crushing one of the open faces and expectant, + pleading eyes looking up at him. It grew to be a nuisance. Wallace always + claimed his trip was considerably shortened because he could not get away + from his admirers. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0036" id="link2HCH0036"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXXVI + </h2> + <p> + Financially the Company was rated high, and yet was heavily in debt. This + condition of affairs by no means constitutes an anomaly in the lumbering + business. + </p> + <p> + The profits of the first five years had been immediately reinvested in the + business. Thorpe, with the foresight that had originally led him into this + new country, saw farther than the instant's gain. He intended to establish + in a few years more a big plant which would be returning benefices in + proportion not only to the capital originally invested, but also in ratio + to the energy, time, and genius he had himself expended. It was not the + affair of a moment. It was not the affair of half-measures, of timidity. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe knew that he could play safely, cutting a few millions a year, + expanding cautiously. By this method he would arrive, but only after a + long period. + </p> + <p> + Or he could do as many other firms have done; start on borrowed money. + </p> + <p> + In the latter case he had only one thing to fear, and that was fire. Every + cent, and many times over, of his obligations would be represented in the + state of raw material. All he had to do was to cut it out by the very + means which the yearly profits of his business would enable him to + purchase. For the moment, he owed a great deal; without the shadow of a + doubt mere industry would clear his debt, and leave him with substantial + acquisitions created, practically, from nothing but his own abilities. The + money obtained from his mortgages was a tool which he picked up an + instant, used to fashion one of his own, and laid aside. + </p> + <p> + Every autumn the Company found itself suddenly in easy circumstances. At + any moment that Thorpe had chosen to be content with the progress made, he + could have, so to speak, declared dividends with his partner. Instead of + undertaking more improvements, for part of which he borrowed some money, + he could have divided the profits of the season's cut. But this he was not + yet ready to do. + </p> + <p> + He had established five more camps, he had acquired over a hundred and + fifty million more of timber lying contiguous to his own, he had built and + equipped a modern high-efficiency mill, he had constructed a harbor + break-water and the necessary booms, he had bought a tug, built a + boarding-house. All this costs money. He wished now to construct a logging + railroad. Then he promised himself and Wallace that they would be ready to + commence paying operations. + </p> + <p> + The logging railroad was just then beginning to gain recognition. A few + miles of track, a locomotive, and a number of cars consisting uniquely of + wheels and “bunks,” or cross beams on which to chain the logs, and a + fairly well-graded right-of-way comprised the outfit. Its use obviated the + necessity of driving the river—always an expensive operation. Often, + too, the decking at the skidways could be dispensed with; and the sleigh + hauls, if not entirely superseded for the remote districts, were entirely + so in the country for a half mile on either side of the track, and in any + case were greatly shortened. There obtained, too, the additional advantage + of being able to cut summer and winter alike. Thus, the plant once + established, logging by railroad was not only easier but cheaper. Of late + years it has come into almost universal use in big jobs and wherever the + nature of the country will permit. The old-fashioned, picturesque ice-road + sleigh-haul will last as long as north-woods lumbering,—even in the + railroad districts,—but the locomotive now does the heavy work. + </p> + <p> + With the capital to be obtained from the following winter's product, + Thorpe hoped to be able to establish a branch which should run from a + point some two miles behind Camp One, to a “dump” a short distance above + the mill. For this he had made all the estimates, and even the preliminary + survey. He was therefore the more grievously disappointed, when Wallace + Carpenter made it impossible for him to do so. + </p> + <p> + He was sitting in the mill-office one day about the middle of July. + Herrick, the engineer, had just been in. He could not keep the engine in + order, although Thorpe knew that it could be done. + </p> + <p> + “I've sot up nights with her,” said Herrick, “and she's no go. I think I + can fix her when my head gets all right. I got headachy lately. And + somehow that last lot of Babbit metal didn't seem to act just right.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe looked out of the window, tapping his desk slowly with the end of a + lead pencil. + </p> + <p> + “Collins,” said he to the bookkeeper, without raising his voice or + altering his position, “make out Herrick's time.” + </p> + <p> + The man stood there astonished. + </p> + <p> + “But I had hard luck, sir,” he expostulated. “She'll go all right now, I + think.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe turned and looked at him. + </p> + <p> + “Herrick,” he said, not unkindly, “this is the second time this summer the + mill has had to close early on account of that engine. We have supplied + you with everything you asked for. If you can't do it, we shall have to + get a man who can.” + </p> + <p> + “But I had—” began the man once more. + </p> + <p> + “I ask every man to succeed in what I give him to do,” interrupted Thorpe. + “If he has a headache, he must brace up or quit. If his Babbit doesn't act + just right he must doctor it up; or get some more, even if he has to steal + it. If he has hard luck, he must sit up nights to better it. It's none of + my concern how hard or how easy a time a man has in doing what I tell him + to. I EXPECT HIM TO DO IT. If I have to do all a man's thinking for him, I + may as well hire Swedes and be done with it. I have too many details to + attend to already without bothering about excuses.” + </p> + <p> + The man stood puzzling over this logic. + </p> + <p> + “I ain't got any other job,” he ventured. + </p> + <p> + “You can go to piling on the docks,” replied Thorpe, “if you want to.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe was thus explicit because he rather liked Herrick. It was hard for + him to discharge the man peremptorily, and he proved the need of + justifying himself in his own eyes. + </p> + <p> + Now he sat back idly in the clean painted little room with the big square + desk and the three chairs. Through the door he could see Collins, perched + on a high stool before the shelf-like desk. From the open window came the + clear, musical note of the circular saw, the fresh aromatic smell of new + lumber, the bracing air from Superior sparkling in the offing. He felt + tired. In rare moments such as these, when the muscles of his striving + relaxed, his mind turned to the past. Old sorrows rose before him and + looked at him with their sad eyes; the sorrows that had helped to make him + what he was. He wondered where his sister was. She would be twenty-two + years old now. A tenderness, haunting, tearful, invaded his heart. He + suffered. At such moments the hard shell of his rough woods life seemed to + rend apart. He longed with a great longing for sympathy, for love, for the + softer influences that cradle even warriors between the clangors of the + battles. + </p> + <p> + The outer door, beyond the cage behind which Collins and his shelf desk + were placed, flew open. Thorpe heard a brief greeting, and Wallace + Carpenter stood before him. + </p> + <p> + “Why, Wallace, I didn't know you were coming!” began Thorpe, and stopped. + The boy, usually so fresh and happily buoyant, looked ten years older. + Wrinkles had gathered between his eyes. “Why, what's the matter?” cried + Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + He rose swiftly and shut the door into the outer office. Wallace seated + himself mechanically. + </p> + <p> + “Everything! everything!” he said in despair. “I've been a fool! I've been + blind!” + </p> + <p> + So bitter was his tone that Thorpe was startled. The lumberman sat down on + the other side of the desk. + </p> + <p> + “That'll do, Wallace,” he said sharply. “Tell me briefly what is the + matter.” + </p> + <p> + “I've been speculating!” burst out the boy. + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said his partner. + </p> + <p> + “At first I bought only dividend-paying stocks outright. Then I bought for + a rise, but still outright. Then I got in with a fellow who claimed to + know all about it. I bought on a margin. There came a slump. I met the + margins because I am sure there will be a rally, but now all my fortune is + in the thing. I'm going to be penniless. I'll lose it all.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “And the name of Carpenter is so old-established, so honorable!” cried the + unhappy boy, “and my sister!” + </p> + <p> + “Easy!” warned Thorpe. “Being penniless isn't the worst thing that can + happen to a man.” + </p> + <p> + “No; but I am in debt,” went on the boy more calmly. “I have given notes. + When they come due, I'm a goner.” + </p> + <p> + “How much?” asked Thorpe laconically. + </p> + <p> + “Thirty thousand dollars.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, you have that amount in this firm.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean?” + </p> + <p> + “If you want it, you can have it.” + </p> + <p> + Wallace considered a moment. + </p> + <p> + “That would leave me without a cent,” he replied. + </p> + <p> + “But it would save your commercial honor.” + </p> + <p> + “Harry,” cried Wallace suddenly, “couldn't this firm go on my note for + thirty thousand more? Its credit is good, and that amount would save my + margins.” + </p> + <p> + “You are partner,” replied Thorpe, “your signature is as good as mine in + this firm.” + </p> + <p> + “But you know I wouldn't do it without your consent,” replied Wallace + reproachfully. “Oh, Harry!” cried the boy, “when you needed the amount, I + let you have it!” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe smiled. + </p> + <p> + “You know you can have it, if it's to be had, Wallace. I wasn't hesitating + on that account. I was merely trying to figure out where we can raise such + a sum as sixty thousand dollars. We haven't got it.” + </p> + <p> + “But you'll never have to pay it,” assured Wallace eagerly. “If I can save + my margins, I'll be all right.” + </p> + <p> + “A man has to figure on paying whatever he puts his signature to,” + asserted Thorpe. “I can give you our note payable at the end of a year. + Then I'll hustle in enough timber to make up the amount. It means we don't + get our railroad, that's all.” + </p> + <p> + “I knew you'd help me out. Now it's all right,” said Wallace, with a + relieved air. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe shook his head. He was already trying to figure how to increase his + cut to thirty million feet. + </p> + <p> + “I'll do it,” he muttered to himself, after Wallace had gone out to visit + the mill. “I've been demanding success of others for a good many years; + now I'll demand it of myself.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART4" id="link2H_PART4"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PART IV. THORPE'S DREAM GIRL + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0037" id="link2HCH0037"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXXVII + </h2> + <p> + The moment had struck for the woman. Thorpe did not know it, but it was + true. A solitary, brooding life in the midst of grand surroundings, an + active, strenuous life among great responsibilities, a starved, hungry + life of the affections whence even the sister had withdrawn her love,—all + these had worked unobtrusively towards the formation of a single + psychological condition. Such a moment comes to every man. In it he + realizes the beauties, the powers, the vastnesses which unconsciously his + being has absorbed. They rise to the surface as a need, which, being + satisfied, is projected into the visible world as an ideal to be + worshipped. Then is happiness and misery beside which the mere struggle to + dominate men becomes trivial, the petty striving with the forces of nature + seems a little thing. And the woman he at that time meets takes on the + qualities of the dream; she is more than woman, less than goddess; she is + the best of that man made visible. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe found himself for the first time filled with the spirit of + restlessness. His customary iron evenness of temper was gone, so that he + wandered quickly from one detail of his work to another, without seeming + to penetrate below the surface-need of any one task. Out of the present + his mind was always escaping to a mystic fourth dimension which he did not + understand. But a week before, he had felt himself absorbed in the + component parts of his enterprise, the totality of which arched far over + his head, shutting out the sky. Now he was outside of it. He had, without + his volition, abandoned the creator's standpoint of the god at the heart + of his work. It seemed as important, as great to him, but somehow it had + taken on a strange solidarity, as though he had left it a plastic + beginning and returned to find it hardened into the shapes of finality. He + acknowledged it admirable,—and wondered how he had ever accomplished + it! He confessed that it should be finished as it had begun,—and + could not discover in himself the Titan who had watched over its + inception. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe took this state of mind much to heart, and in combating it expended + more energy than would have sufficed to accomplish the work. Inexorably he + held himself to the task. He filled his mind full of lumbering. The + millions along the bank on section nine must be cut and travoyed directly + to the rollways. It was a shame that the necessity should arise. From + section nine Thorpe had hoped to lighten the expenses when finally he + should begin operations on the distant and inaccessible headwaters of + French Creek. Now there was no help for it. The instant necessity was to + get thirty millions of pine logs down the river before Wallace Carpenter's + notes came due. Every other consideration had to yield before that. + Fifteen millions more could be cut on seventeen, nineteen, and eleven,—regions + hitherto practically untouched,—by the men in the four camps inland. + Camp One and Camp Three could attend to section nine. + </p> + <p> + These were details to which Thorpe applied his mind. As he pushed through + the sun-flecked forest, laying out his roads, placing his travoy trails, + spying the difficulties that might supervene to mar the fair face of + honest labor, he had always this thought before him,—that he must + apply his mind. By an effort, a tremendous effort, he succeeded in doing + so. The effort left him limp. He found himself often standing, or moving + gently, his eyes staring sightless, his mind cradled on vague misty clouds + of absolute inaction, his will chained so softly and yet so firmly that he + felt no strength and hardly the desire to break from the dream that lulled + him. Then he was conscious of the physical warmth of the sun, the faint + sweet woods smells, the soothing caress of the breeze, the sleepy + cicada-like note of the pine creeper. Through his half-closed lashes the + tangled sun-beams made soft-tinted rainbows. He wanted nothing so much as + to sit on the pine needles there in the golden flood of radiance, and + dream—dream on—vaguely, comfortably, sweetly—dream of + the summer— + </p> + <p> + Thorpe, with a mighty and impatient effort, snapped the silken cords + asunder. + </p> + <p> + “Lord, Lord!” he cried impatiently. “What's coming to me? I must be a + little off my feed!” + </p> + <p> + And he hurried rapidly to his duties. After an hour of the hardest + concentration he had ever been required to bestow on a trivial subject, he + again unconsciously sank by degrees into the old apathy. + </p> + <p> + “Glad it isn't the busy season!” he commented to himself. “Here, I must + quit this! Guess it's the warm weather. I'll get down to the mill for a + day or two.” + </p> + <p> + There he found himself incapable of even the most petty routine work. He + sat to his desk at eight o'clock and began the perusal of a sheaf of + letters, comprising a certain correspondence, which Collins brought him. + The first three he read carefully; the following two rather hurriedly; of + the next one he seized only the salient and essential points; the seventh + and eighth he skimmed; the remainder of the bundle he thrust aside in + uncontrollable impatience. Next day he returned to the woods. + </p> + <p> + The incident of the letters had aroused to the full his old fighting + spirit, before which no mere instincts could stand. He clamped the iron to + his actions and forced them to the way appointed. Once more his mental + processes became clear and incisive, his commands direct and to the point. + To all outward appearance Thorpe was as before. + </p> + <p> + He opened Camp One, and the Fighting Forty came back from distant drinking + joints. This was in early September, when the raspberries were entirely + done and the blackberries fairly in the way of vanishing. That able-bodied + and devoted band of men was on hand when needed. Shearer, in some subtle + manner of his own, had let them feel that this year meant thirty million + or “bust.” They tightened their leather belts and stood ready for + commands. Thorpe set them to work near the river, cutting roads along the + lines he had blazed to the inland timber on seventeen and nineteen. After + much discussion with Shearer the young man decided to take out the logs + from eleven by driving them down French Creek. + </p> + <p> + To this end a gang was put to clearing the creekbed. It was a tremendous + job. Centuries of forest life had choked the little stream nearly to the + level of its banks. Old snags and stumps lay imbedded in the ooze; decayed + trunks, moss-grown, blocked the current; leaning tamaracks, fallen timber, + tangled vines, dense thickets gave to its course more the appearance of a + tropical jungle than of a north country brook-bed. All these things had to + be removed, one by one, and either piled to one side or burnt. In the end, + however, it would pay. French Creek was not a large stream, but it could + be driven during the time of the spring freshets. + </p> + <p> + Each night the men returned in the beautiful dreamlike twilight to the + camp. There they sat, after eating, smoking their pipes in the open air. + Much of the time they sang, while Phil, crouching wolf-like over his + violin, rasped out an accompaniment of dissonances. From a distance it + softened and fitted pleasantly into the framework of the wilderness. The + men's voices lent themselves well to the weird minor strains of the + chanteys. These times—when the men sang, and the night-wind rose and + died in the hemlock tops—were Thorpe's worst moments. His soul, + tired with the day's iron struggle, fell to brooding. Strange thoughts + came to him, strange visions. He wanted something he knew not what; he + longed, and thrilled, and aspired to a greater glory than that of brave + deeds, a softer comfort than his old foster mother, the wilderness, could + bestow. + </p> + <p> + The men were singing in a mighty chorus, swaying their heads in unison, + and bringing out with a roar the emphatic words of the crude ditties + written by some genius from their own ranks. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Come all ye sons of freedom throughout old Michigan, + Come all ye gallant lumbermen, list to a shanty man. + On the banks of the Muskegon, where the rapid waters flow, + OH!—we'll range the wild woods o'er while a-lumbering we go.” + </pre> + <p> + Here was the bold unabashed front of the pioneer, here was absolute + certainty in the superiority of his calling,—absolute scorn of all + others. Thorpe passed his hand across his brow. The same spirit was once + fully and freely his. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The music of our burnished ax shall make the woods resound, + And many a lofty ancient pine will tumble to the ground. + At night around our shanty fire we'll sing while rude winds blow, + OH!—we'll range the wild woods o'er while a-lumbering we go!” + </pre> + <p> + That was what he was here for. Things were going right. It would be + pitiful to fail merely on account of this idiotic lassitude, this unmanly + weakness, this boyish impatience and desire for play. He a woodsman! He a + fellow with these big strong men! + </p> + <p> + A single voice, clear and high, struck into a quick measure: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I am a jolly shanty boy, + As you will soon discover; + To all the dodges I am fly, + A hustling pine-woods rover. + A peavey-hook it is my pride, + An ax I well can handle. + To fell a tree or punch a bull, + Get rattling Danny Randall.” + </pre> + <p> + And then with a rattle and crash the whole Fighting Forty shrieked out the + chorus: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Bung yer eye! bung yer eye!” + </pre> + <p> + Active, alert, prepared for any emergency that might arise; hearty, ready + for everything, from punching bulls to felling trees—that was + something like! Thorpe despised himself. The song went on. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I love a girl in Saginaw, + She lives with her mother. + I defy all Michigan + To find such another. + She's tall and slim, her hair is red, + Her face is plump and pretty. + She's my daisy Sunday best-day girl, + And her front name stands for Kitty.” + </pre> + <p> + And again as before the Fighting Forty howled truculently: + </p> + <p> + “Bung yer eye! bung yer eye!” + </p> + <p> + The words were vulgar, the air a mere minor chant. Yet Thorpe's mind was + stilled. His aroused subconsciousness had been engaged in reconstructing + these men entire as their songs voiced rudely the inner characteristics of + their beings. Now his spirit halted, finger on lip. Their bravery, pride + of caste, resource, bravado, boastfulness,—all these he had checked + off approvingly. Here now was the idea of the Mate. Somewhere for each of + them was a “Kitty,” a “daisy Sunday best-day girl”; the eternal feminine; + the softer side; the tenderness, beauty, glory of even so harsh a world as + they were compelled to inhabit. At the present or in the past these woods + roisterers, this Fighting Forty, had known love. Thorpe arose abruptly and + turned at random into the forest. The song pursued him as he went, but he + heard only the clear sweet tones, not the words. And yet even the words + would have spelled to his awakened sensibilities another idea,—would + have symbolized however rudely, companionship and the human delight of + acting a part before a woman. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I took her to a dance one night, + A mossback gave the bidding— + Silver Jack bossed the shebang, + and Big Dan played the fiddle. + We danced and drank the livelong night + With fights between the dancing, + Till Silver Jack cleaned out the ranch + And sent the mossbacks prancing.” + </pre> + <p> + And with the increasing war and turmoil of the quick water the last shout + of the Fighting Forty mingled faintly and was lost. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Bung yer eye! bung yer eye!” + </pre> + <p> + Thorpe found himself at the edge of the woods facing a little glade into + which streamed the radiance of a full moon. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0038" id="link2HCH0038"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXXVIII + </h2> + <p> + There he stood and looked silently, not understanding, not caring to + inquire. Across the way a white-throat was singing, clear, beautiful, like + the shadow of a dream. The girl stood listening. + </p> + <p> + Her small fair head was inclined ever so little sideways and her finger + was on her lips as though she wished to still the very hush of night, to + which impression the inclination of her supple body lent its grace. The + moonlight shone full upon her countenance. A little white face it was, + with wide clear eyes and a sensitive, proud mouth that now half parted + like a child's. Here eyebrows arched from her straight nose in the + peculiarly graceful curve that falls just short of pride on the one side + and of power on the other, to fill the eyes with a pathos of trust and + innocence. The man watching could catch the poise of her long white neck + and the molten moon-fire from her tumbled hair,—the color of + corn-silk, but finer. + </p> + <p> + And yet these words meant nothing. A painter might have caught her charm, + but he must needs be a poet as well,—and a great poet, one capable + of grandeurs and subtleties. + </p> + <p> + To the young man standing there rapt in the spell of vague desire, of + awakened vision, she seemed most like a flower or a mist. He tried to find + words to formulate her to himself, but did not succeed. Always it came + back to the same idea—the flower and the mist. Like the petals of a + flower most delicate was her questioning, upturned face; like the bend of + a flower most rare the stalk of her graceful throat; like the poise of a + flower most dainty the attitude of her beautiful, perfect body sheathed in + a garment that outlined each movement, for the instant in suspense. Like a + mist the glimmering of her skin, the shining of her hair, the elusive + moonlike quality of her whole personality as she stood there in the + ghost-like clearing listening, her fingers on her lips. + </p> + <p> + Behind her lurked the low, even shadow of the forest where the moon was + not, a band of velvet against which the girl and the light-touched twigs + and bushes and grass blades were etched like frost against a black window + pane. There was something, too, of the frost-work's evanescent spiritual + quality in the scene,—as though at any moment, with a puff of the + balmy summer wind, the radiant glade, the hovering figure, the filagreed + silver of the entire setting would melt into the accustomed stern and + menacing forest of the northland, with its wolves, and its wild deer, and + the voices of its sterner calling. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe held his breath and waited. Again the white-throat lifted his + clear, spiritual note across the brightness, slow, trembling with. The + girl never moved. She stood in the moonlight like a beautiful emblem of + silence, half real, half fancy, part woman, wholly divine, listening to + the little bird's message. + </p> + <p> + For the third time the song shivered across the night, then Thorpe with a + soft sob, dropped his face in his hands and looked no more. + </p> + <p> + He did not feel the earth beneath his knees, nor the whip of the sumach + across his face; he did not see the moon shadows creep slowly along the + fallen birch; nor did he notice that the white-throat had hushed its song. + His inmost spirit was shaken. Something had entered his soul and filled it + to the brim, so that he dared no longer stand in the face of radiance + until he had accounted with himself. Another drop would overflow the cup. + </p> + <p> + Ah, sweet God, the beauty of it, the beauty of it! That questing, + childlike starry gaze, seeking so purely to the stars themselves! That + flower face, those drooping, half parted lips! That inexpressible, + unseizable something they had meant! Thorpe searched humbly—eagerly—then + with agony through his troubled spirit, and in its furthermost depths saw + the mystery as beautifully remote as ever. It approached and swept over + him and left him gasping passion-racked. Ah, sweet God, the beauty of it! + the beauty of it! the vision! the dream! + </p> + <p> + He trembled and sobbed with his desire to seize it, with his impotence to + express it, with his failure even to appreciate it as his heart told him + it should be appreciated. + </p> + <p> + He dared not look. At length he turned and stumbled back through the + moonlit forest crying on his old gods in vain. + </p> + <p> + At the banks of the river he came to a halt. There in the velvet pines the + moonlight slept calmly, and the shadows rested quietly under the + breezeless sky. Near at hand the river shouted as ever its cry of joy over + the vitality of life, like a spirited boy before the face of inscrutable + nature. All else was silence. Then from the waste boomed a strange, hollow + note, rising, dying, rising again, instinct with the spirit of the wilds. + It fell, and far away sounded a heavy but distant crash. The cry lifted + again. It was the first bull moose calling across the wilderness to his + mate. + </p> + <p> + And then, faint but clear down the current of a chance breeze drifted the + chorus of the Fighting Forty. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The forests so brown at our stroke go down, + And cities spring up where they fell; + While logs well run and work well done + Is the story the shanty boys tell.” + </pre> + <p> + Thorpe turned from the river with a thrust forward of his head. He was not + a religious man, and in his six years' woods experience had never been to + church. Now he looked up over the tops of the pines to where the Pleiades + glittered faintly among the brighter stars. + </p> + <p> + “Thanks, God,” said he briefly. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0039" id="link2HCH0039"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XXXIX + </h2> + <p> + For several days this impression satisfied him completely. He discovered, + strangely enough, that his restlessness had left him, that once more he + was able to give to his work his former energy and interest. It was as + though some power had raised its finger and a storm had stilled, leaving + calm, unruffled skies. + </p> + <p> + He did not attempt to analyze this; he did not even make an effort to + contemplate it. His critical faculty was stricken dumb and it asked no + questions of him. At a touch his entire life had changed. Reality or + vision, he had caught a glimpse of something so entirely different from + anything his imagination or experience had ever suggested to him, that at + first he could do no more than permit passively its influences to adjust + themselves to his being. + </p> + <p> + Curiosity, speculation, longing,—all the more active emotions + remained in abeyance while outwardly, for three days, Harry Thorpe + occupied himself only with the needs of the Fighting Forty at Camp One. + </p> + <p> + In the early morning he went out with the gang. While they chopped or + heaved, he stood by serene. Little questions of expediency he solved. + Dilemmas he discussed leisurely with Tim Shearer. Occasionally he lent a + shoulder when the peaveys lacked of prying a stubborn log from its bed. + Not once did he glance at the nooning sun. His patience was quiet and + sure. When evening came he smoked placidly outside the office, listening + to the conversation and laughter of the men, caressing one of the beagles, + while the rest slumbered about his feet, watching dreamily the night + shadows and the bats. At about nine o'clock he went to bed, and slept + soundly. He was vaguely conscious of a great peace within him, a great + stillness of the spirit, against which the metallic events of his craft + clicked sharply in vivid relief. It was the peace and stillness of a river + before it leaps. + </p> + <p> + Little by little the condition changed. The man felt vague stirrings of + curiosity. He speculated aimlessly as to whether or not the glade, the + moonlight, the girl, had been real or merely the figments of imagination. + Almost immediately the answer leaped at him from his heart. Since she was + so certainly flesh and blood, whence did she come? what was she doing + there in the wilderness? His mind pushed the query aside as unimportant, + rushing eagerly to the essential point: When could he see her again? How + find for the second time the vision before which his heart felt the + instant need of prostrating itself. His placidity had gone. That morning + he made some vague excuse to Shearer and set out blindly down the river. + </p> + <p> + He did not know where he was going, any more than did the bull moose + plunging through the trackless wilderness to his mate. Instinct, the + instinct of all wild natural creatures, led him. And so, without thought, + without clear intention even,—most would say by accident,—he + saw her again. It was near the “pole trail”; which was less like a trail + than a rail-fence. + </p> + <p> + For when the snows are deep and snowshoes not the property of every man + who cares to journey, the old-fashioned “pole trail” comes into use. It is + merely a series of horses built of timber across which thick Norway logs + are laid, about four feet from the ground, to form a continuous pathway. A + man must be a tight-rope walker to stick to the pole trail when ice and + snow have sheathed its logs. If he makes a misstep, he is precipitated + ludicrously into feathery depths through which he must flounder to the + nearest timber horse before he can remount. In summer, as has been said, + it resembles nothing so much as a thick one-rail fence of considerable + height, around which a fringe of light brush has grown. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe reached the fringe of bushes, and was about to dodge under the + fence, when he saw her. So he stopped short, concealed by the leaves and + the timber horse. + </p> + <p> + She stood on a knoll in the middle of a grove of monster pines. There was + something of the cathedral in the spot. A hush dwelt in the dusk, the long + columns lifted grandly to the Roman arches of the frond, faint murmurings + stole here and there like whispering acolytes. The girl stood tall and + straight among the tall, straight pines like a figure on an ancient + tapestry. She was doing nothing—just standing there—but the + awe of the forest was in her wide, clear eyes. + </p> + <p> + The great sweet feeling clutched the young man's throat again. But while + the other,—the vision of the frost-work glade and the spirit-like + figure of silence,—had been unreal and phantasmagoric, this was of + the earth. He looked, and looked, and looked again. He saw the full pure + curve of her cheek's contour, neither oval nor round, but like the outline + of a certain kind of plum. He appreciated the half-pathetic downward droop + of the corners of her mouth,—her red mouth in dazzling, bewitching + contrast to the milk-whiteness of her skin. He caught the fineness of her + nose, straight as a Grecian's, but with some faint suggestion about the + nostrils that hinted at piquance. And the waving corn silk of her + altogether charming and unruly hair, the superb column of her long neck on + which her little head poised proudly like a flower, her supple body, whose + curves had the long undulating grace of the current in a swift river, her + slender white hand with the pointed fingers—all these he saw one + after the other, and his soul shouted within him at the sight. He wrestled + with the emotions that choked him. “Ah, God! Ah, God!” he cried softly to + himself like one in pain. He, the man of iron frame, of iron nerve, + hardened by a hundred emergencies, trembled in every muscle before a + straight, slender girl, clad all in brown, standing alone in the middle of + the ancient forest. + </p> + <p> + In a moment she stirred slightly, and turned. Drawing herself to her full + height, she extended her hands over her head palm outward, and, with an + indescribably graceful gesture, half mockingly bowed a ceremonious adieu + to the solemn trees. Then with a little laugh she moved away in the + direction of the river. + </p> + <p> + At once Thorpe proved a great need of seeing her again. In his present + mood there was nothing of the awe-stricken peace he had experienced after + the moonlight adventure. He wanted the sight of her as he had never wanted + anything before. He must have it, and he looked about him fiercely as + though to challenge any force in Heaven or Hell that would deprive him of + it. His eyes desired to follow the soft white curve of her cheek, to dance + with the light of her corn-silk hair, to delight in the poetic movements + of her tall, slim body, to trace the full outline of her chin, to wonder + at the carmine of her lips, red as a blood-spot on the snow. These things + must be at once. The strong man desired it. And finding it impossible, he + raged inwardly and tore the tranquillities of his heart, as on the shores + of the distant Lake of Stars, the bull-moose trampled down the bushes in + his passion. + </p> + <p> + So it happened that he ate hardly at all that day, and slept ill, and + discovered the greatest difficulty in preserving the outward semblance of + ease which the presence of Tim Shearer and the Fighting Forty demanded. + </p> + <p> + And next day he saw her again, and the next, because the need of his heart + demanded it, and because, simply enough, she came every afternoon to the + clump of pines by the old pole trail. + </p> + <p> + Now had Thorpe taken the trouble to inquire, he could have learned easily + enough all there was to be known of the affair. But he did not take the + trouble. His consciousness was receiving too many new impressions, so that + in a manner it became bewildered. At first, as has been seen, the mere + effect of the vision was enough; then the sight of the girl sufficed him. + But now curiosity awoke and a desire for something more. He must speak to + her, touch her hand, look into her eyes. He resolved to approach her, and + the mere thought choked him and sent him weak. + </p> + <p> + When he saw her again from the shelter of the pole trail, he dared not, + and so stood there prey to a novel sensation,—that of being baffled + in an intention. It awoke within him a vast passion compounded part of + rage at himself, part of longing for that which he could not take, but + most of love for the girl. As he hesitated in one mind but in two + decisions, he saw that she was walking slowly in his direction. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps a hundred paces separated the two. She took them deliberately, + pausing now and again to listen, to pluck a leaf, to smell the fragrant + balsam and fir tops as she passed them. Her progression was a series of + poses, the one of which melted imperceptibly into the other without + appreciable pause of transition. So subtly did her grace appeal to the + sense of sight, that out of mere sympathy the other senses responded with + fictions of their own. Almost could the young man behind the trail savor a + faint fragrance, a faint music that surrounded and preceded her like the + shadows of phantoms. He knew it as an illusion, born of his desire, and + yet it was a noble illusion, for it had its origin in her. + </p> + <p> + In a moment she had reached the fringe of brush about the pole trail. They + stood face to face. + </p> + <p> + She gave a little start of surprise, and her hand leaped to her breast, + where it caught and stayed. Her childlike down-drooping mouth parted a + little more, and the breath quickened through it. But her eyes, her wide, + trusting, innocent eyes, sought his and rested. + </p> + <p> + He did not move. The eagerness, the desire, the long years of ceaseless + struggle, the thirst for affection, the sob of awe at the moonlit glade, + the love,—all these flamed in his eyes and fixed his gaze in an + unconscious ardor that had nothing to do with convention or timidity. One + on either side of the spike-marked old Norway log of the trail they stood, + and for an appreciable interval the duel of their glances lasted,—he + masterful, passionate, exigent; she proud, cool, defensive in the + aloofness of her beauty. Then at last his prevailed. A faint color rose + from her neck, deepened, and spread over her face and forehead. In a + moment she dropped her eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Don't you think you stare a little rudely—Mr. Thorpe?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0040" id="link2HCH0040"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XL + </h2> + <p> + The vision was over, but the beauty remained. The spoken words of protest + made her a woman. Never again would she, nor any other creature of the + earth, appear to Thorpe as she had in the silver glade or the cloistered + pines. He had had his moment of insight. The deeps had twice opened to + permit him to look within. Now they had closed again. But out of them had + fluttered a great love and the priestess of it. Always, so long as life + should be with him, Thorpe was destined to see in this tall graceful girl + with the red lips and the white skin and the corn-silk hair, more beauty, + more of the great mysterious spiritual beauty which is eternal, than her + father or her mother or her dearest and best. For to them the vision had + not been vouchsafed, while he had seen her as the highest symbol of God's + splendor. + </p> + <p> + Now she stood before him, her head turned half away, a faint flush still + tingeing the chalk-white of her skin, watching him with a dim, + half-pleading smile in expectation of his reply. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, moon of my soul! light of my life!” he cried, but he cried it within + him, though it almost escaped his vigilance to his lips. What he really + said sounded almost harsh in consequence. + </p> + <p> + “How did you know my name?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + She planted both elbows on the Norway and framed her little face + deliciously with her long pointed hands. + </p> + <p> + “If Mr. Harry Thorpe can ask that question,” she replied, “he is not quite + so impolite as I had thought him.” + </p> + <p> + “If you don't stop pouting your lips, I shall kiss them!” cried Harry—to + himself. + </p> + <p> + “How is that?” he inquired breathlessly. + </p> + <p> + “Don't you know who I am?” she asked in return. + </p> + <p> + “A goddess, a beautiful woman!” he answered ridiculously enough. + </p> + <p> + She looked straight at him. This time his gaze dropped. + </p> + <p> + “I am a friend of Elizabeth Carpenter, who is Wallace Carpenter's sister, + who I believe is Mr. Harry Thorpe's partner.” + </p> + <p> + She paused as though for comment. The young man opposite was occupied in + many other more important directions. Some moments later the words + trickled into his brain, and some moments after that he realized their + meaning. + </p> + <p> + “We wrote Mr. Harry Thorpe that we were about to descend on his district + with wagons and tents and Indians and things, and asked him to come and + see us.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, heart o' mine, what clear, pure eyes she has! How they look at a man + to drown his soul!” + </p> + <p> + Which, even had it been spoken, was hardly the comment one would have + expected. + </p> + <p> + The girl looked at him for a moment steadily, then smiled. The change of + countenance brought Thorpe to himself, and at the same moment the words + she had spoken reached his comprehension. + </p> + <p> + “But I never received the letter. I'm so sorry,” said he. “It must be at + the mill. You see, I've been up in the woods for nearly a month.” + </p> + <p> + “Then we'll have to forgive you.” + </p> + <p> + “But I should think they would have done something for you at the mill—” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, we didn't come by way of your mill. We drove from Marquette.” + </p> + <p> + “I see,” cried Thorpe, enlightened. “But I'm sorry I didn't know. I'm + sorry you didn't let me know. I suppose you thought I was still at the + mill. How did you get along? Is Wallace with you?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” she replied, dropping her hands and straightening her erect figure. + “It's horrid. He was coming, and then some business came up and he + couldn't get away. We are having the loveliest time though. I do adore the + woods. Come,” she cried impatiently, sweeping aside to leave a way clear, + “you shall meet my friends.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe imagined she referred to the rest of the tenting party. He + hesitated. + </p> + <p> + “I am hardly in fit condition,” he objected. + </p> + <p> + She laughed, parting her red lips. “You are extremely picturesque just as + you are,” she said with rather embarrassing directness. “I wouldn't have + you any different for the world. But my friends don't mind. They are used + to it.” She laughed again. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe crossed the pole trail, and for the first time found himself by her + side. The warm summer odors were in the air, a dozen lively little birds + sang in the brush along the rail, the sunlight danced and flickered + through the openings. + </p> + <p> + Then suddenly they were among the pines, and the air was cool, the vista + dim, and the bird songs inconceivably far away. + </p> + <p> + The girl walked directly to the foot of a pine three feet through, and + soaring up an inconceivable distance through the still twilight. + </p> + <p> + “This is Jimmy,” said she gravely. “He is a dear good old rough bear when + you don't know him, but he likes me. If you put your ear close against + him,” she confided, suiting the action to the word, “you can hear him + talking to himself. This little fellow is Tommy. I don't care so much for + Tommy because he's sticky. Still, I like him pretty well, and here's Dick, + and that's Bob, and the one just beyond is Jack.” + </p> + <p> + “Where is Harry?” asked Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “I thought one in a woods was quite sufficient,” she replied with the + least little air of impertinence. + </p> + <p> + “Why do you name them such common, everyday names?” he inquired. + </p> + <p> + “I'll tell you. It's because they are so big and grand themselves, that it + did not seem to me they needed high-sounding names. What do you think?” + she begged with an appearance of the utmost anxiety. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe expressed himself as in agreement. As the half-quizzical + conversation progressed, he found their relations adjusting themselves + with increasing rapidity. He had been successively the mystic devotee + before his vision, the worshipper before his goddess; now he was + unconsciously assuming the attitude of the lover before his mistress. It + needs always this humanizing touch to render the greatest of all passions + livable. + </p> + <p> + And as the human element developed, he proved at the same time greater and + greater difficulty in repressing himself and greater and greater fear of + the results in case he should not do so. He trembled with the desire to + touch her long slender hand, and as soon as his imagination had permitted + him that much he had already crushed her to him and had kissed + passionately her starry face. Words hovered on his lips longing for + flight. He withheld them by an effort that left him almost incoherent, for + he feared with a deadly fear lest he lose forever what the vision had + seemed to offer to his hand. + </p> + <p> + So he said little, and that lamely, for he dreaded to say too much. To her + playful sallies he had no riposte. And in consequence he fell more silent + with another boding—that he was losing his cause outright for lack + of a ready word. + </p> + <p> + He need not have been alarmed. A woman in such a case hits as surely as a + man misses. Her very daintiness and preciosity of speech indicated it. For + where a man becomes stupid and silent, a woman covers her emotions with + words and a clever speech. Not in vain is a proud-spirited girl stared + down in such a contest of looks; brave deeds simply told by a friend are + potent to win interest in advance; a straight, muscular figure, a brown + skin, a clear, direct eye, a carriage of power and acknowledged authority, + strike hard at a young imagination; a mighty passion sweeps aside the + barriers of the heart. Such a victory, such a friend, such a passion had + Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + And so the last spoken exchange between them meant nothing; but if each + could have read the unsaid words that quivered on the other's heart, + Thorpe would have returned to the Fighting Forty more tranquilly, while + she would probably not have returned to the camping party at all for a + number of hours. + </p> + <p> + “I do not think you had better come with me,” she said. “Make your call + and be forgiven on your own account. I don't want to drag you in at my + chariot wheels.” + </p> + <p> + “All right. I'll come this afternoon,” Thorpe had replied. + </p> + <p> + “I love her, I must have her. I must go—at once,” his soul had + cried, “quick—now—before I kiss her!” + </p> + <p> + “How strong he is,” she said to herself, “how brave-looking; how honest! + He is different from the other men. He is magnificent.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0041" id="link2HCH0041"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XLI + </h2> + <p> + That afternoon Thorpe met the other members of the party, offered his + apologies and explanations, and was graciously forgiven. He found the + personnel to consist of, first of all, Mrs. Cary, the chaperone, a very + young married woman of twenty-two or thereabouts; her husband, a youth of + three years older, clean-shaven, light-haired, quiet-mannered; Miss + Elizabeth Carpenter, who resembled her brother in the characteristics of + good-looks, vivacious disposition and curly hair; an attendant satellite + of the masculine persuasion called Morton; and last of all the girl whom + Thorpe had already so variously encountered and whom he now met as Miss + Hilda Farrand. Besides these were Ginger, a squab negro built to fit the + galley of a yacht; and three Indian guides. They inhabited tents, which + made quite a little encampment. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe was received with enthusiasm. Wallace Carpenter's stories of his + woods partner, while never doing more than justice to the truth, had been + of a warm color tone. One and all owned a lively curiosity to see what a + real woodsman might be like. When he proved to be handsome and well + mannered, as well as picturesque, his reception was no longer in doubt. + </p> + <p> + Nothing could exceed his solicitude as to their comfort and amusement. He + inspected personally the arrangement of the tents, and suggested one or + two changes conducive to the littler comforts. This was not much like + ordinary woods-camping. The largest wall-tent contained three folding cots + for the women, over which, in the daytime, were flung bright-colored + Navajo blankets. Another was spread on the ground. Thorpe later, however, + sent over two bear skins, which were acknowledgedly an improvement. To the + tent pole a mirror of size was nailed, and below it stood a portable + washstand. The second tent, devoted to the two men, was not quite so + luxurious; but still boasted of little conveniences the true woodsman + would never consider worth the bother of transporting. The third, equally + large, was the dining tent. The other three, smaller, and on the A tent + order, served respectively as sleeping rooms for Ginger and the Indians, + and as a general store-house for provisions and impedimenta. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe sent an Indian to Camp One for the bearskins, put the rest to + digging a trench around the sleeping tents in order that a rain storm + might not cause a flood, and ordered Ginger to excavate a square hole some + feet deep which he intended to utilize as a larder. + </p> + <p> + Then he gave Morton and Cary hints as to the deer they wished to capture, + pointed out the best trout pools, and issued advice as to the compassing + of certain blackberries, not far distant. + </p> + <p> + Simple things enough they were to do—it was as though a city man + were to direct a newcomer to Central Park, or impart to him a test for the + destinations of trolley lines—yet Thorpe's new friends were + profoundly impressed with his knowledge of occult things. The forest was + to them, as to most, more or less of a mystery, unfathomable except to the + favored of genius. A man who could interpret it, even a little, into the + speech of everyday comfort and expediency possessed a strong claim to + their imaginations. When he had finished these practical affairs, they + wanted him to sit down and tell them more things, to dine with them, to + smoke about their camp fire in the evening. But here they encountered a + decided check. Thorpe became silent, almost morose. He talked in + monosyllables, and soon went away. They did not know what to make of him, + and so were, of course, the more profoundly interested. The truth was, his + habitual reticence would not have permitted a great degree of expansion in + any case, but now the presence of Hilda made any but an attitude of hushed + waiting for her words utterly impossible to him. He wished well to them + all. If there was anything he could do for them, he would gladly undertake + it. But he would not act the lion nor tell of his, to them, interesting + adventures. + </p> + <p> + However, when he discovered that Hilda had ceased visiting the clump of + pines near the pole trail, his desire forced him back among these people. + He used to walk in swiftly at almost any time of day, casting quick + glances here and there in search of his divinity. + </p> + <p> + “How do, Mrs. Cary,” he would say. “Nice weather. Enjoying yourself?” + </p> + <p> + On receiving the reply he would answer heartily, “That's good!” and lapse + into silence. When Hilda was about he followed every movement of hers with + his eyes, so that his strange conduct lacked no explanation nor + interpretation, in the minds of the women at least. Thrice he redeemed his + reputation for being an interesting character by conducting the party on + little expeditions here and there about the country. Then his woodcraft + and resourcefulness spoke for him. They asked him about the lumbering + operations, but he seemed indifferent. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing to interest you,” he affirmed. “We're just cutting roads now. You + ought to be here for the drive.” + </p> + <p> + To him there was really nothing interesting in the cutting of roads nor + the clearing of streams. It was all in a day's work. + </p> + <p> + Once he took them over to see Camp One. They were immensely pleased, and + were correspondingly loud in exclamations. Thorpe's comments were brief + and dry. After the noon dinner he had the unfortunate idea of commending + the singing of one of the men. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I'd like to hear him,” cried Elizabeth Carpenter. “Can't you get him + to sing for us, Mr. Thorpe?” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe went to the men's camp, where he singled out the unfortunate + lumber-jack in question. + </p> + <p> + “Come on, Archie,” he said. “The ladies want to hear you sing.” + </p> + <p> + The man objected, refused, pleaded, and finally obeyed what amounted to a + command. Thorpe reentered the office with triumph, his victim in tow. + </p> + <p> + “This is Archie Harris,” he announced heartily. “He's our best singer just + now. Take a chair, Archie.” + </p> + <p> + The man perched on the edge of the chair and looked straight out before + him. + </p> + <p> + “Do sing for us, won't you, Mr. Harris?” requested Mrs. Cary in her + sweetest tones. + </p> + <p> + The man said nothing, nor moved a muscle, but turned a brick-red. An + embarrassed silence of expectation ensued. + </p> + <p> + “Hit her up, Archie,” encouraged Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “I ain't much in practice no how,” objected the man in a little voice, + without moving. + </p> + <p> + “I'm sure you'll find us very appreciative,” said Elizabeth Carpenter. + </p> + <p> + “Give us a song, Archie, let her go,” urged Thorpe impatiently. + </p> + <p> + “All right,” replied the man very meekly. + </p> + <p> + Another silence fell. It got to be a little awful. The poor woodsman, + pilloried before the regards of this polite circle, out of his element, + suffering cruelly, nevertheless made no sign nor movement one way or the + other. At last when the situation had almost reached the breaking point of + hysteria, he began. + </p> + <p> + His voice ordinarily was rather a good tenor. Now he pitched it too high; + and went on straining at the high notes to the very end. Instead of + offering one of the typical woods chanteys, he conceived that before so + grand an audience he should give something fancy. He therefore struck into + a sentimental song of the cheap music-hall type. There were nine verses, + and he drawled through them all, hanging whiningly on the nasal notes in + the fashion of the untrained singer. Instead of being a performance + typical of the strange woods genius, it was merely an atrocious bit of + cheap sentimentalism, badly rendered. + </p> + <p> + The audience listened politely. When the song was finished it murmured + faint thanks. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, give us 'Jack Haggerty,' Archie,” urged Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + But the woodsman rose, nodded his head awkwardly, and made his escape. He + entered the men's camp, swearing, and for the remainder of the day made + none but blasphemous remarks. + </p> + <p> + The beagles, however, were a complete success. They tumbled about, and + lolled their tongues, and laughed up out of a tangle of themselves in a + fascinating manner. Altogether the visit to Camp One was a success, the + more so in that on the way back, for the first time, Thorpe found that + chance—and Mrs. Cary—had allotted Hilda to his care. + </p> + <p> + A hundred yards down the trail they encountered Phil. The dwarf stopped + short, looked attentively at the girl, and then softly approached. When + quite near to her he again stopped, gazing at her with his soul in his + liquid eyes. + </p> + <p> + “You are more beautiful than the sea at night,” he said directly. + </p> + <p> + The others laughed. “There's sincerity for you, Miss Hilda,” said young + Mr. Morton. + </p> + <p> + “Who is he?” asked the girl after they had moved + </p> + <p> + “Our chore-boy,” answered Thorpe with great brevity, for he was thinking + of something much more important. + </p> + <p> + After the rest of the party had gone ahead, leaving them sauntering more + slowly down the trail, he gave it voice. + </p> + <p> + “Why don't you come to the pine grove any more?” he asked bluntly. + </p> + <p> + “Why?” countered Hilda in the manner of women. + </p> + <p> + “I want to see you there. I want to talk with you. I can't talk with all + that crowd around.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll come to-morrow,” she said—then with a little mischievous + laugh, “if that'll make you talk.” + </p> + <p> + “You must think I'm awfully stupid,” agreed Thorpe bitterly. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, no! Ah, no!” she protested softly. “You must not say that.” + </p> + <p> + She was looking at him very tenderly, if he had only known it, but he did + not, for his face was set in discontented lines straight before him. + </p> + <p> + “It is true,” he replied. + </p> + <p> + They walked on in silence, while gradually the dangerous fascination of + the woods crept down on them. Just before sunset a hush falls on nature. + The wind has died, the birds have not yet begun their evening songs, the + light itself seems to have left off sparkling and to lie still across the + landscape. Such a hush now lay on their spirits. Over the way a creeper + was droning sleepily a little chant,—the only voice in the + wilderness. In the heart of the man, too, a little voice raised itself + alone. + </p> + <p> + “Sweetheart, sweetheart, sweetheart!” it breathed over and over again. + After a while he said it gently in a half voice. + </p> + <p> + “No, no, hush!” said the girl, and she laid the soft, warm fingers of one + hand across his lips, and looked at him from a height of superior + soft-eyed tenderness as a woman might look at a child. “You must not. It + is not right.” + </p> + <p> + Then he kissed the fingers very gently before they were withdrawn, and she + said nothing at all in rebuke, but looked straight before her with + troubled eyes. + </p> + <p> + The voices of evening began to raise their jubilant notes. From a tree + nearby the olive thrush sang like clockwork; over beyond carolled eagerly + a black-throat, a myrtle warbler, a dozen song sparrows, and a hundred + vireos and creepers. Down deep in the blackness of the ancient woods a + hermit thrush uttered his solemn bell note, like the tolling of the spirit + of peace. And in Thorpe's heart a thousand tumultuous voices that had + suddenly roused to clamor, died into nothingness at the music of her + softly protesting voice. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0042" id="link2HCH0042"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XLII + </h2> + <p> + Thorpe returned to Camp One shortly after dark. He found there Scotty + Parsons, who had come up to take charge of the crew engaged in clearing + French Creek. The man brought him a number of letters sent on by Collins, + among which was one from Wallace Carpenter. + </p> + <p> + After commending the camping party to his companion's care, and giving + minute directions as to how and where to meet it, the young fellow went on + to say that affairs were going badly on the Board. + </p> + <p> + “Some interest that I haven't been able to make out yet has been hammering + our stocks down day after day,” he wrote. “I don't understand it, for the + stocks are good—they rest on a solid foundation of value and + intrinsically are worth more than is bid for them right now. Some powerful + concern is beating them down for a purpose of its own. Sooner or later + they will let up, and then we'll get things back in good shape. I am amply + protected now, thanks to you, and am not at all afraid of losing my + holdings. The only difficulty is that I am unable to predict exactly when + the other fellows will decide that they have accomplished whatever they + are about, and let up. It may not be before next year. In that case I + couldn't help you out on those notes when they come due. So put in your + best licks, old man. You may have to pony up for a little while, though of + course sooner or later I can put it all back. Then, you bet your life, I + keep out of it. Lumbering's good enough for yours truly. + </p> + <p> + “By the way, you might shine up to Hilda Farrand and join the rest of the + fortune-hunters. She's got it to throw to the birds, and in her own right. + Seriously, old fellow, don't put yourself into a false position through + ignorance. Not that there is any danger to a hardened old woodsman like + you.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe went to the group of pines by the pole trail the following + afternoon because he had said he would, but with a new attitude of mind. + He had come into contact with the artificiality of conventional relations, + and it stiffened him. No wonder she had made him keep silence the + afternoon before! She had done it gently and nicely, to be sure, but that + was part of her good-breeding. Hilda found him formal, reserved, polite; + and marvelled at it. In her was no coquetry. She was as straightforward + and sincere as the look of her eyes. + </p> + <p> + They sat down on a log. Hilda turned to him with her graceful air of + confidence. + </p> + <p> + “Now talk to me,” said she. + </p> + <p> + “Certainly,” replied Thorpe in a practical tone of voice, “what do you + want me to talk about?” + </p> + <p> + She shot a swift, troubled glance at him, concluded herself mistaken, and + said: + </p> + <p> + “Tell me about what you do up here—your life—all about it.” + </p> + <p> + “Well—” replied Thorpe formally, “we haven't much to interest a girl + like you. It is a question of saw logs with us”—and he went on in + his dryest, most technical manner to detail the process of manufacture. It + might as well have been bricks. + </p> + <p> + The girl did not understand. She was hurt. As surely as the sun tangled in + the distant pine frond, she had seen in his eyes a great passion. Now it + was coldly withdrawn. + </p> + <p> + “What has happened to you?” she asked finally out of her great sincerity. + </p> + <p> + “Me? Nothing,” replied Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + A forced silence fell upon him. Hilda seemed gradually to lose herself in + reverie. After a time she said softly. + </p> + <p> + “Don't you love this woods?” + </p> + <p> + “It's an excellent bunch of pine,” replied Thorpe bluntly. “It'll cut + three million at least.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” she cried drawing back, her hands pressed against the log either + side of her, her eyes wide. + </p> + <p> + After a moment she caught her breath convulsively, and Thorpe became + conscious that she was studying him furtively with a quickening doubt. + </p> + <p> + After that, by the mercy of God, there was no more talk between them. She + was too hurt and shocked and disillusioned to make the necessary effort to + go away. He was too proud to put an end to the position. They sat there + apparently absorbed in thought, while all about them the accustomed life + of the woods drew nearer and nearer to them, as the splash of their + entrance into it died away. + </p> + <p> + A red squirrel poised thirty feet above them, leaped, and clung swaying to + a sapling-top a dozen yards from the tree he had quitted. Two chickadees + upside down uttering liquid undertones, searched busily for insects next + their heads. Wilson's warblers, pine creepers, black-throats, myrtle and + magnolia warblers, oven birds, peewits, blue jays, purple finches, passed + silently or noisily, each according to his kind. Once a lone spruce hen + dusted herself in a stray patch of sunlight until it shimmered on a tree + trunk, raised upward, and disappeared, to give place to long level dusty + shafts that shot here and there through the pines laying the spell of + sunset on the noisy woods brawlers. + </p> + <p> + Unconsciously the first strain of opposition and of hurt surprise had + relaxed. Each thought vaguely his thoughts. Then in the depths of the + forest, perhaps near at hand, perhaps far away, a single hermit thrush + began to sing. His song was of three solemn deep liquid notes; followed by + a slight rhetorical pause as of contemplation; and then, deliberately, + three notes more on a different key—and so on without haste and + without pause. It is the most dignified, the most spiritual, the holiest + of woods utterances. Combined with the evening shadows and the warm soft + air, it offered to the heart an almost irresistible appeal. The man's + artificial antagonism modified; the woman's disenchantment began to seem + unreal. + </p> + <p> + Then subtly over and through the bird-song another sound became audible. + At first it merely repeated the three notes faintly, like an echo, but + with a rich, sad undertone that brought tears. Then, timidly and still + softly, it elaborated the theme, weaving in and out through the original + three the glitter and shimmer of a splendid web of sound, spreading before + the awakened imagination a broad river of woods-imagery that reflected on + its surface all the subtler moods of the forest. The pine shadows, the + calls of the wild creatures, the flow of the brook, the splashes of + sunlight through the trees, the sigh of the wind, the shout of the rapid,—all + these were there, distinctly to be felt in their most ethereal and + beautiful forms. And yet it was all slight and tenuous as though the crack + of a twig would break it through—so that over it continually like a + grand full organ-tone repeated the notes of the bird itself. + </p> + <p> + With the first sigh of the wonder-music the girl had started and caught + her breath in the exquisite pleasure of it. As it went on they both forgot + everything but the harmony and each other. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, beautiful!” she murmured. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” he whispered marvelling. + </p> + <p> + “A violin,—played by a master.” + </p> + <p> + The bird suddenly hushed, and at once the strain abandoned the woods-note + and took another motif. At first it played softly in the higher notes, a + tinkling, lightsome little melody that stirred a kindly surface-smile over + a full heart. Then suddenly, without transition, it dropped to the lower + register, and began to sob and wail in the full vibrating power of a great + passion. + </p> + <p> + And the theme it treated was love. It spoke solemnly, fearfully of the + greatness of it, the glory. These as abstractions it amplified in fine + full-breathed chords that swept the spirit up and up as on the waves of a + mighty organ. Then one by one the voices of other things were heard,—the + tinkling of laughter, the roar of a city, the sob of a grief, a cry of + pain suddenly shooting across the sound, the clank of a machine, the + tumult of a river, the puff of a steamboat, the murmuring of a vast crowd,—and + one by one, without seeming in the least to change their character, they + merged imperceptibly into, and were part of the grand-breathed chords, so + that at last all the fames and ambitions and passions of the world came, + in their apotheosis, to be only parts of the master-passion of them all. + </p> + <p> + And while the echoes of the greater glory still swept beneath their + uplifted souls like ebbing waves, so that they still sat rigid and staring + with the majesty of it, the violin softly began to whisper. Beautiful it + was as a spirit, beautiful beyond words, beautiful beyond thought. Its + beauty struck sharp at the heart. And they two sat there hand in hand + dreaming—dreaming—dreaming— + </p> + <p> + At last the poignant ecstacy seemed slowly, slowly to die. Fainter and + fainter ebbed the music. Through it as through a mist the solemn aloof + forest began to show to the consciousness of the two. They sought each + other's eyes gently smiling. The music was very soft and dim and sad. They + leaned to each other with a sob. Their lips met. The music ceased. + </p> + <p> + Alone in the forest side by side they looked out together for a moment + into that eternal vision which lovers only are permitted to see. The + shadows fell. About them brooded the inscrutable pines stretching a canopy + over them enthroned. A single last shaft of the sun struck full upon them, + a single light-spot in the gathering gloom. They were beautiful. + </p> + <p> + And over behind the trees, out of the light and the love and the beauty, + little Phil huddled, his great shaggy head bowed in his arms. Beside him + lay his violin, and beside that his bow, broken. He had snapped it across + his knee. That day he had heard at last the Heart Song of the Violin, and + uttering it, had bestowed love. But in accordance with his prophecy he had + that day lost what he cared for most in all the world, his friend. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0043" id="link2HCH0043"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XLIII + </h2> + <p> + That was the moon of delight. The days passed through the hazy forest like + stately figures from an old masque. In the pine grove on the knoll the man + and the woman had erected a temple to love, and love showed them one to + the other. + </p> + <p> + In Hilda Farrand was no guile, no coquetry, no deceit. So perfect was her + naturalism that often by those who knew her least she was considered + affected. Her trust in whomever she found herself with attained so + directly its reward; her unconsciousness of pose was so rhythmically + graceful; her ignorance and innocence so triumphantly effective, that the + mind with difficulty rid itself of the belief that it was all carefully + studied. This was not true. She honestly did not know that she was + beautiful; was unaware of her grace; did not realize the potency of her + wealth. + </p> + <p> + This absolute lack of self-consciousness was most potent in overcoming + Thorpe's natural reticence. He expanded to her. She came to idolize him in + a manner at once inspiring and touching in so beautiful a creature. In him + she saw reflected all the lofty attractions of character which she herself + possessed, but of which she was entirely unaware. Through his words she + saw to an ideal. His most trivial actions were ascribed to motives of a + dignity which would have been ridiculous, if it had not been a little + pathetic. The woods-life, the striving of the pioneer kindled her + imagination. She seized upon the great facts of them and fitted those + facts with reasons of her own. Her insight perceived the adventurous + spirit, the battle-courage, the indomitable steadfastness which always in + reality lie back of these men of the frontier to urge them into the life; + and of them constructed conscious motives of conduct. To her fancy the + lumbermen, of whom Thorpe was one, were self-conscious agents of advance. + They chose hardship, loneliness, the strenuous life because they wished to + clear the way for a higher civilization. To her it seemed a great and + noble sacrifice. She did not perceive that while all this is true, it is + under the surface, the real spur is a desire to get on, and a hope of + making money. For, strangely enough, she differentiated sharply the life + and the reasons for it. An existence in subduing the forest was to her + ideal; the making of a fortune through a lumbering firm she did not + consider in the least important. That this distinction was most potent, + the sequel will show. + </p> + <p> + In all of it she was absolutely sincere, and not at all stupid. She had + always had all she could spend, without question. Money meant nothing to + her, one way or the other. If need was, she might have experienced some + difficulty in learning how to economize, but none at all in adjusting + herself to the necessity of it. The material had become, in all sincerity, + a basis for the spiritual. She recognized but two sorts of motives; of + which the ideal, comprising the poetic, the daring, the beautiful, were + good; and the material, meaning the sordid and selfish, were bad. With her + the mere money-getting would have to be allied with some great and poetic + excuse. + </p> + <p> + That is the only sort of aristocracy, in the popular sense of the word, + which is real; the only scorn of money which can be respected. + </p> + <p> + There are some faces which symbolize to the beholder many subtleties of + soul-beauty which by no other method could gain expression. Those + subtleties may not, probably do not, exist in the possessor of the face. + The power of such a countenance lies not so much in what it actually + represents, as in the suggestion it holds out to another. So often it is + with a beautiful character. Analyze it carefully, and you will reduce it + generally to absolute simplicity and absolute purity—two elements + common enough in adulteration; but place it face to face with a more + complex personality, and mirror-like it will take on a hundred delicate + shades of ethical beauty, while at the same time preserving its own lofty + spirituality. + </p> + <p> + Thus Hilda Farrand reflected Thorpe. In the clear mirror of her heart his + image rested transfigured. It was as though the glass were magic, so that + the gross and material was absorbed and lost, while the more spiritual + qualities reflected back. So the image was retained in its entirety, but + etherealized, refined. It is necessary to attempt, even thus faintly and + inadequately, a sketch of Hilda's love, for a partial understanding of it + is necessary to the comprehension of what followed the moon of delight. + </p> + <p> + That moon saw a variety of changes. + </p> + <p> + The bed of French Creek was cleared. Three of the roads were finished, and + the last begun. So much for the work of it. + </p> + <p> + Morton and Cary shot four deer between them, which was unpardonably + against the law, caught fish in plenty, smoked two and a half pounds of + tobacco, and read half of one novel. Mrs. Cary and Miss Carpenter walked a + total of over a hundred miles, bought twelve pounds of Indian work of all + sorts, embroidered the circle of two embroidery frames, learned to paddle + a birch-bark canoe, picked fifteen quarts of berries, and gained six + pounds in weight. All the party together accomplished five picnics, four + explorations, and thirty excellent campfires in the evening. So much for + the fun of it. + </p> + <p> + Little Phil disappeared utterly, taking with him his violin, but leaving + his broken bow. Thorpe has it even to this day. The lumberman caused + search and inquiry on all sides. The cripple was never heard of again. He + had lived his brief hour, taken his subtle artist's vengeance of misplayed + notes on the crude appreciation of men too coarse-fibered to recognize it, + brought together by the might of sacrifice and consummate genius two + hearts on the brink of misunderstanding;—now there was no further + need for him, he had gone. So much for the tragedy of it. + </p> + <p> + “I saw you long ago,” said Hilda to Thorpe. “Long, long ago, when I was + quite a young girl. I had been visiting in Detroit, and was on my way all + alone to catch an early train. You stood on the corner thinking, tall and + straight and brown, with a weather-beaten old hat and a weather-beaten old + coat and weather-beaten old moccasins, and such a proud, clear, undaunted + look on your face. I have remembered you ever since.” + </p> + <p> + And then he told her of the race to the Land Office, while her eyes grew + brighter and brighter with the epic splendor of the story. She told him + that she had loved him from that moment—and believed her telling; + while he, the unsentimental leader of men, persuaded himself and her that + he had always in some mysterious manner carried her image prophetically in + his heart. So much for the love of it. + </p> + <p> + In the last days of the month of delight Thorpe received a second letter + from his partner, which to some extent awakened him to the realities. + </p> + <p> + “My dear Harry,” it ran. “I have made a startling discovery. The other + fellow is Morrison. I have been a blind, stupid dolt, and am caught + nicely. You can't call me any more names than I have already called + myself. Morrison has been in it from the start. By an accident I learned + he was behind the fellow who induced me to invest, and it is he who has + been hammering the stock down ever since. They couldn't lick you at your + game, so they tackled me at mine. I'm not the man you are, Harry, and I've + made a mess of it. Of course their scheme is plain enough on the face of + it. They're going to involve me so deeply that I will drag the firm down + with me. + </p> + <p> + “If you can fix it to meet those notes, they can't do it. I have ample + margin to cover any more declines they may be able to bring about. Don't + fret about that. Just as sure as you can pay that sixty thousand, just so + sure we'll be ahead of the game at this time next year. For God's sake get + a move on you, old man. If you don't—good Lord! The firm'll bust + because she can't pay; I'll bust because I'll have to let my stock go on + margins—it'll be an awful smash. But you'll get there, so we needn't + worry. I've been an awful fool, and I've no right to do the getting into + trouble and leave you to the hard work of getting out again. But as + partner I'm going to insist on your having a salary—etc.” + </p> + <p> + The news aroused all Thorpe's martial spirit. Now at last the mystery + surrounding Morrison & Daly's unnatural complaisance was riven. It had + come to grapples again. He was glad of it. Meet those notes? Well I guess + so! He'd show them what sort of a proposition they had tackled. Sneaking, + underhanded scoundrels! taking advantage of a mere boy. Meet those notes? + You bet he would; and then he'd go down there and boost those stocks until + M. & D. looked like a last year's bird's nest. He thrust the letter in + his pocket and walked buoyantly to the pines. + </p> + <p> + The two lovers sat there all the afternoon drinking in half sadly the joy + of the forest and of being near each other, for the moon of delight was + almost done. In a week the camping party would be breaking up, and Hilda + must return to the city. It was uncertain when they would be able to see + each other again, though there was talk of getting up a winter party to + visit Camp One in January. The affair would be unique. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly the girl broke off and put her fingers to her lips. For some + time, dimly, an intermittent and faint sound had been felt, rather than + actually heard, like the irregular muffled beating of a heart. Gradually + it had insisted on the attention. Now at last it broke through the film of + consciousness. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe listened. Then his face lit mightily with the joy of battle. + </p> + <p> + “My axmen,” he cried. “They are cutting the road.” + </p> + <p> + A faint call echoed. Then without warning, nearer at hand the sharp ring + of an ax sounded through the forest. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PART5" id="link2H_PART5"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PART V. THE FOLLOWING OF THE TRAIL + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0044" id="link2HCH0044"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XLIV + </h2> + <p> + For a moment they sat listening to the clear staccato knocking of the + distant blows, and the more forceful thuds of the man nearer at hand. A + bird or so darted from the direction of the sound and shot silently into + the thicket behind them. + </p> + <p> + “What are they doing? Are they cutting lumber?” asked Hilda. + </p> + <p> + “No,” answered Thorpe, “we do not cut saw logs at this time of year. They + are clearing out a road.” + </p> + <p> + “Where does it go to?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, nowhere in particular. That is, it is a logging road that starts at + the river and wanders up through the woods where the pine is.” + </p> + <p> + “How clear the axes sound. Can't we go down and watch them a little + while?” + </p> + <p> + “The main gang is a long distance away; sound carries very clearly in this + still air. As for that fellow you hear so plainly, he is only clearing out + small stuff to get ready for the others. You wouldn't see anything + different from your Indian chopping the cordwood for your camp fire. He + won't chop out any big trees.” + </p> + <p> + “Let's not go, then,” said Hilda submissively. + </p> + <p> + “When you come up in the winter,” he pursued, “you will see any amount of + big timber felled.” + </p> + <p> + “I would like to know more about it,” she sighed, a quaint little air of + childish petulance graving two lines between her eyebrows. “Do you know, + Harry, you are a singularly uncommunicative sort of being. I have to guess + that your life is interesting and picturesque,—that is,” she + amended, “I should have to do so if Wallace Carpenter had not told me a + little something about it. Sometimes I think you are not nearly poet + enough for the life you are living. Why, you are wonderful, you men of the + north, and you let us ordinary mortals who have not the gift of divination + imagine you entirely occupied with how many pounds of iron chain you are + going to need during the winter.” She said these things lightly as one who + speaks things not for serious belief. + </p> + <p> + “It is something that way,” he agreed with a laugh. + </p> + <p> + “Do you know, sir,” she persisted, “that I really don't know anything at + all about the life you lead here? From what I have seen, you might be + perpetually occupied in eating things in a log cabin, and in disappearing + to perform some mysterious rites in the forest.” She looked at him with a + smiling mouth but tender eyes, her head tilted back slightly. + </p> + <p> + “It's a good deal that way, too,” he agreed again. “We use a barrel of + flour in Camp One every two and a half days!” + </p> + <p> + She shook her head in a faint negation that only half understood what he + was saying, her whole heart in her tender gaze. + </p> + <p> + “Sit there,” she breathed very softly, pointing to the dried needles on + which her feet rested, but without altering the position of her head or + the steadfastness of her look. + </p> + <p> + He obeyed. + </p> + <p> + “Now tell me,” she breathed, still in the fascinated monotone. + </p> + <p> + “What?” he inquired. + </p> + <p> + “Your life; what you do; all about it. You must tell me a story.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe settled himself more lazily, and laughed with quiet enjoyment. + Never had he felt the expansion of a similar mood. The barrier between + himself and self-expression had faded, leaving not the smallest debris of + the old stubborn feeling. + </p> + <p> + “The story of the woods,” he began, “the story of the saw log. It would + take a bigger man than I to tell it. I doubt if any one man ever would be + big enough. It is a drama, a struggle, a battle. Those men you hear there + are only the skirmishers extending the firing line. We are fighting always + with Time. I'll have to hurry now to get those roads done and a certain + creek cleared before the snow. Then we'll have to keep on the keen move to + finish our cutting before the deep snow; to haul our logs before the + spring thaws; to float them down the river while the freshet water lasts. + When we gain a day we have scored a victory; when the wilderness puts us + back an hour, we have suffered a defeat. Our ammunition is Time; our small + shot the minutes, our heavy ordnance the hours!” + </p> + <p> + The girl placed her hand on his shoulder. He covered it with his own. + </p> + <p> + “But we win!” he cried. “We win!” + </p> + <p> + “That is what I like,” she said softly, “the strong spirit that wins!” She + hesitated, then went on gently, “But the battlefields, Harry; to me they + are dreadful. I went walking yesterday morning, before you came over, and + after a while I found myself in the most awful place. The stumps of trees, + the dead branches, the trunks lying all about, and the glaring hot sun + over everything! Harry, there was not a single bird in all that waste, a + single green thing. You don't know how it affected me so early in the + morning. I saw just one lonesome pine tree that had been left for some + reason or another, standing there like a sentinel. I could shut my eyes + and see all the others standing, and almost hear the birds singing and the + wind in the branches, just as it is here.” She seized his fingers in her + other hand. “Harry,” she said earnestly, “I don't believe I can ever + forget that experience, any more than I could have forgotten a + battlefield, were I to see one. I can shut my eyes now, and can see this + place our dear little wooded knoll wasted and blackened as that was.” + </p> + <p> + The man twisted his shoulder uneasily and withdrew his hand. + </p> + <p> + “Harry,” she said again, after a pause, “you must promise to leave this + woods until the very last. I suppose it must all be cut down some day, but + I do not want to be here to see after it is all over.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe remained silent. + </p> + <p> + “Men do not care much for keepsakes, do they, Harry?—they don't save + letters and flowers as we girls do—but even a man can feel the value + of a great beautiful keepsake such as this, can't he, dear? Our + meeting-place—do you remember how I found you down there by the old + pole trail, staring as though you had seen a ghost?—and that + beautiful, beautiful music! It must always be our most sacred memory. + Promise me you will save it until the very, very last.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe said nothing because he could not rally his faculties. The + sentimental association connected with the grove had actually never + occurred to him. His keepsakes were impressions which he carefully guarded + in his memory. To the natural masculine indifference toward material bits + of sentiment he had added the instinct of the strictly portable early + developed in the rover. He had never even possessed a photograph of his + sister. Now this sudden discovery that such things might be part of the + woof of another person's spiritual garment came to him ready-grown to the + proportions of a problem. + </p> + <p> + In selecting the districts for the season's cut, he had included in his + estimates this very grove. Since then he had seen no reason for changing + his decision. The operations would not commence until winter. By that time + the lovers would no longer care to use it as at present. Now rapidly he + passed in review a dozen expedients by which his plan might be modified to + permit of the grove's exclusion. His practical mind discovered flaws in + every one. Other bodies of timber promising a return of ten thousand + dollars were not to be found near the river, and time now lacked for the + cutting of roads to more distant forties. + </p> + <p> + “Hilda,” he broke in abruptly at last, “the men you hear are clearing a + road to this very timber.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + “This timber is marked for cutting this very winter.” + </p> + <p> + She had not a suspicion of the true state of affairs. “Isn't it lucky I + spoke of it!” she exclaimed. “How could you have forgotten to countermand + the order! You must see to it to-day; now!” + </p> + <p> + She sprang up impulsively and stood waiting for him. He arose more slowly. + Even before he spoke her eyes dilated with the shock from her quick + intuitions. + </p> + <p> + “Hilda, I cannot,” he said. + </p> + <p> + She stood very still for some seconds. + </p> + <p> + “Why not?” she asked quietly. + </p> + <p> + “Because I have not time to cut a road through to another bunch of pine. + It is this or nothing.” + </p> + <p> + “Why not nothing, then?” + </p> + <p> + “I want the money this will bring.” + </p> + <p> + His choice of a verb was unfortunate. The employment of that one little + word opened the girl's mind to a flood of old suspicions which the frank + charm of the northland had thrust outside. Hilda Farrand was an heiress + and a beautiful girl. She had been constantly reminded of the one fact by + the attempts of men to use flattery of the other as a key to her heart and + her fortune. From early girlhood she had been sought by the brilliant + impecunious of two continents. The continued experience had varnished her + self-esteem with a glaze of cynicism sufficiently consistent to protect it + against any but the strongest attack. She believed in no man's + protestations. She distrusted every man's motives as far as herself was + concerned. This attitude of mind was not unbecoming in her for the simple + reason that it destroyed none of her graciousness as regards other human + relations besides that of love. That men should seek her in matrimony from + a selfish motive was as much to be expected as that flies should seek the + sugar bowl. She accepted the fact as one of nature's laws, annoying enough + but inevitable; a thing to guard against, but not one of sufficient moment + to grieve over. + </p> + <p> + With Thorpe, however, her suspicions had been lulled. There is something + virile and genuine about the woods and the men who inhabit them that + strongly predisposes the mind to accept as proved in their entirety all + the other virtues. Hilda had fallen into this state of mind. She endowed + each of the men whom she encountered with all the robust qualities she had + no difficulty in recognizing as part of nature's charm in the wilderness. + Now at a word her eyes were opened to what she had done. She saw that she + had assumed unquestioningly that her lover possessed the qualities of his + environment. + </p> + <p> + Not for a moment did she doubt the reality of her love. She had conceived + one of those deep, uplifting passions possible only to a young girl. But + her cynical experience warned her that the reality of that passion's + object was not proven by any test besides the fallible one of her own + poetizing imagination. The reality of the ideal she had constructed might + be a vanishable quantity even though the love of it was not. So to the + interview that ensued she brought, not the partiality of a loving heart, + nor even the impartiality of one sitting in judgment, but rather the + perverted prejudice of one who actually fears the truth. + </p> + <p> + “Will you tell me for what you want the money?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + The young man caught the note of distrust. At once, instinctively, his own + confidence vanished. He drew within himself, again beyond the power of + justifying himself with the needed word. + </p> + <p> + “The firm needs it in the business,” said he. + </p> + <p> + Her next question countered instantaneously. + </p> + <p> + “Does the firm need the money more than you do me?” + </p> + <p> + They stared at each other in the silence of the situation that had so + suddenly developed. It had come into being without their volition, as a + dust cloud springs up on a plain. + </p> + <p> + “You do not mean that, Hilda,” said Thorpe quietly. “It hardly comes to + that.” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed it does,” she replied, every nerve of her fine organization strung + to excitement. “I should be more to you than any firm.” + </p> + <p> + “Sometimes it is necessary to look after the bread and butter,” Thorpe + reminded her gently, although he knew that was not the real reason at all. + </p> + <p> + “If your firm can't supply it, I can,” she answered. “It seems strange + that you won't grant my first request of you, merely because of a little + money.” + </p> + <p> + “It isn't a little money,” he objected, catching manlike at the practical + question. “You don't realize what an amount a clump of pine like this + stands for. Just in saw logs, before it is made into lumber, it will be + worth about thirty thousand dollars,—of course there's the expense + of logging to pay out of that,” he added, out of his accurate business + conservatism, “but there's ten thousand dollars' profit in it.” + </p> + <p> + The girl, exasperated by cold details at such a time, blazed out. “I never + heard anything so ridiculous in my life!” she cried. “Either you are not + at all the man I thought you, or you have some better reason than you have + given. Tell me, Harry; tell me at once. You don't know what you are + doing.” + </p> + <p> + “The firm needs it, Hilda,” said Thorpe, “in order to succeed. If we do + not cut this pine, we may fail.” + </p> + <p> + In that he stated his religion. The duty of success was to him one of the + loftiest of abstractions, for it measured the degree of a man's efficiency + in the station to which God had called him. The money, as such, was + nothing to him. + </p> + <p> + Unfortunately the girl had learned a different language. She knew nothing + of the hardships, the struggles, the delight of winning for the sake of + victory rather than the sake of spoils. To her, success meant getting a + lot of money. The name by which Thorpe labelled his most sacred principle, + to her represented something base and sordid. She had more money herself + than she knew. It hurt her to the soul that the condition of a small + money-making machine, as she considered the lumber firm, should be weighed + even for an instant against her love. It was a great deal Thorpe's fault + that she so saw the firm. He might easily have shown her the great forces + and principles for which it stood. + </p> + <p> + “If I were a man,” she said, and her voice was tense, “if I were a man and + loved a woman, I would be ready to give up everything for her. My riches, + my pride, my life, my honor, my soul even,—they would be as nothing, + as less than nothing to me,—if I loved. Harry, don't let me think I + am mistaken. Let this miserable firm of yours fail, if fail it must for + lack of my poor little temple of dreams,” she held out her hands with a + tender gesture of appeal. The affair had gone beyond the preservation of a + few trees. It had become the question of an ideal. Gradually, in spite of + herself, the conviction was forcing itself upon her that the man she had + loved was no different from the rest; that the greed of the dollar had + corrupted him too. By the mere yielding to her wishes, she wanted to prove + the suspicion wrong. + </p> + <p> + Now the strange part of the whole situation was, that in two words Thorpe + could have cleared it. If he had explained that he needed the ten thousand + dollars to help pay a note given to save from ruin a foolish friend, he + would have supplied to the affair just the higher motive the girl's clear + spirituality demanded. Then she would have shared enthusiastically in the + sacrifice, and been the more loving and repentant from her momentary + doubt. All she needed was that the man should prove himself actuated by a + noble, instead of a sordid, motive. The young man did not say the two + words, because in all honesty he thought them unimportant. It seemed to + him quite natural that he should go on Wallace Carpenter's note. That fact + altered not a bit the main necessity of success. It was a man's duty to + make the best of himself,—it was Thorpe's duty to prove himself + supremely efficient in his chosen calling; the mere coincidence that his + partner's troubles worked along the same lines meant nothing to the logic + of the situation. In stating baldly that he needed the money to assure the + firm's existence, he imagined he had adduced the strongest possible reason + for his attitude. If the girl was not influenced by that, the case was + hopeless. + </p> + <p> + It was the difference of training rather than the difference of ideas. + Both clung to unselfishness as the highest reason for human action; but + each expressed the thought in a manner incomprehensible to the other. + </p> + <p> + “I cannot, Hilda,” he answered steadily. + </p> + <p> + “You sell me for ten thousand dollars! I cannot believe it! Harry! Harry! + Must I put it to you as a choice? Don't you love me enough to spare me + that?” + </p> + <p> + He did not reply. As long as it remained a dilemma, he would not reply. He + was in the right. + </p> + <p> + “Do you need the money more than you do me? more than you do love?” she + begged, her soul in her eyes; for she was begging also for herself. + “Think, Harry; it is the last chance!” + </p> + <p> + Once more he was face to face with a vital decision. To his surprise he + discovered in his mind no doubt as to what the answer should be. He + experienced no conflict of mind; no hesitation; for the moment, no regret. + During all his woods life he had been following diligently the trail he + had blazed for his conduct. Now his feet carried him unconsciously to the + same end. There was no other way out. In the winter of his trouble the + clipped trees alone guided him, and at the end of them he found his + decision. It is in crises of this sort, when a little reflection or + consideration would do wonders to prevent a catastrophe, that all the + forgotten deeds, decisions, principles, and thoughts of a man's past life + combine solidly into the walls of fatality, so that in spite of himself he + finds he must act in accordance with them. In answer to Hilda's question + he merely inclined his head. + </p> + <p> + “I have seen a vision,” said she simply, and lowered her head to conceal + her eyes. Then she looked at him again. “There can be nothing better than + love,” she said. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, one thing,” said Thorpe, “the duty of success.” + </p> + <p> + The man had stated his creed; the woman hers. The one is born perfect + enough for love; the other must work, must attain the completeness of a + fulfilled function, must succeed, to deserve it. + </p> + <p> + She left him then, and did not see him again. Four days later the camping + party left. Thorpe sent Tim Shearer over, as his most efficient man, to + see that they got off without difficulty, but himself retired on some + excuse to Camp Four. Three weeks gone in October he received a marked + newspaper announcing the engagement of Miss Hilda Farrand to Mr. Hildreth + Morton of Chicago. + </p> + <p> + He had burned his ships, and stood now on an unfriendly shore. The first + sacrifice to his jealous god had been consummated, and now, live or die, + he stood pledged to win his fight. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0045" id="link2HCH0045"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XLV + </h2> + <p> + Winter set in early and continued late; which in the end was a good thing + for the year's cut. The season was capricious, hanging for days at a time + at the brink of a thaw, only to stiffen again into severe weather. This + was trying on the nerves. For at each of these false alarms the six camps + fell into a feverish haste to get the job finished before the break-up. It + was really quite extraordinary how much was accomplished under the nagging + spur of weather conditions and the cruel rowelling of Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + The latter had now no thought beyond his work, and that was the thought of + a madman. He had been stern and unyielding enough before, goodness knows, + but now he was terrible. His restless energy permeated every molecule in + the economic structure over which he presided, roused it to intense + vibration. Not for an instant was there a resting spell. The veriest + chore-boy talked, thought, dreamed of nothing but saw logs. Men whispered + vaguely of a record cut. Teamsters looked upon their success or failure to + keep near the top on the day's haul as a signal victory or a disgraceful + defeat. The difficulties of snow, accident, topography which an + ever-watchful nature threw down before the rolling car of this industry, + were swept aside like straws. Little time was wasted and no opportunities. + It did not matter how smoothly affairs happened to be running for the + moment, every advantage, even the smallest, was eagerly seized to advance + the work. A drop of five degrees during the frequent warm spells brought + out the sprinklers, even in dead of night; an accident was white-hot in + the forge almost before the crack of the iron had ceased to echo. At night + the men fell into their bunks like sandbags, and their last conscious + thought, if indeed they had any at all, was of eagerness for the morrow in + order that they might push the grand total up another notch. It was + madness; but it was the madness these men loved. + </p> + <p> + For now to his old religion Thorpe had added a fanaticism, and over the + fanaticism was gradually creeping a film of doubt. To the conscientious + energy which a sense of duty supplied, was added the tremendous kinetic + force of a love turned into other channels. And in the wild nights while + the other men slept, Thorpe's half-crazed brain was revolving over and + over again the words of the sentence he had heard from Hilda's lips: + “There can be nothing better than love.” + </p> + <p> + His actions, his mind, his very soul vehemently denied the proposition. He + clung as ever to his high Puritanic idea of man's purpose. But down deep + in a very tiny, sacred corner of his heart a very small voice sometimes + made itself heard when other, more militant voices were still: “It may be; + it may be!” + </p> + <p> + The influence of this voice was practically nothing. It made itself heard + occasionally. Perhaps even, for the time being, its weight counted on the + other side of the scale; for Thorpe took pains to deny it fiercely, both + directly and indirectly by increased exertions. But it persisted; and once + in a moon or so, when the conditions were quite favorable, it attained for + an instant a shred of belief. + </p> + <p> + Probably never since the Puritan days of New England has a community lived + as sternly as did that winter of 1888 the six camps under Thorpe's + management. There was something a little inspiring about it. The men + fronted their daily work with the same grim-faced, clear-eyed steadiness + of veterans going into battle;—with the same confidence, the same + sure patience that disposes effectively of one thing before going on to + the next. There was little merely excitable bustle; there was no rest. + Nothing could stand against such a spirit. Nothing did. The skirmishers + which the wilderness threw out, were brushed away. Even the inevitable + delays seemed not so much stoppages as the instant's pause of a heavy + vehicle in a snow drift, succeeded by the momentary acceleration as the + plunge carried it through. In the main, and by large, the machine moved + steadily and inexorably. + </p> + <p> + And yet one possessed of the finer spiritual intuitions could not have + shaken off the belief in an impending struggle. The feel of it was in the + air. Nature's forces were too mighty to be so slightly overcome; the + splendid energy developed in these camps too vast to be wasted on facile + success. Over against each other were two great powers, alike in their + calm confidence, animated with the loftiest and most dignified spirit of + enmity. Slowly they were moving toward each other. The air was surcharged + with the electricity of their opposition. Just how the struggle would + begin was uncertain; but its inevitability was as assured as its + magnitude. Thorpe knew it, and shut his teeth, looking keenly about him. + The Fighting Forty knew it, and longed for the grapple to come. The other + camps knew it, and followed their leader with perfect trust. The affair + was an epitome of the historic combats begun with David and Goliath. It + was an affair of Titans. The little courageous men watched their enemy + with cat's eyes. + </p> + <p> + The last month of hauling was also one of snow. In this condition were few + severe storms, but each day a little fell. By and by the accumulation + amounted to much. In the woods where the wind could not get at it, it lay + deep and soft above the tops of bushes. The grouse ate browse from the + slender hardwood tips like a lot of goldfinches, or precipitated + themselves headlong down through five feet of snow to reach the ground. + Often Thorpe would come across the irregular holes of their entrance. Then + if he took the trouble to stamp about a little in the vicinity with his + snowshoes, the bird would spring unexpectedly from the clear snow, + scattering a cloud with its strong wings. The deer, herded together, + tramped “yards” where the feed was good. Between the yards ran narrow + trails. When the animals went from one yard to another in these trails, + their ears and antlers alone were visible. On either side of the logging + roads the snow piled so high as to form a kind of rampart. When all this + water in suspense should begin to flow, and to seek its level in the + water-courses of the district, the logs would have plenty to float them, + at least. + </p> + <p> + So late did the cold weather last that, even with the added plowing to do, + the six camps beat all records. On the banks at Camp One were nine million + feet; the totals of all five amounted to thirty-three million. About ten + million of this was on French Creek; the remainder on the main banks of + the Ossawinamakee. Besides this the firm up-river, Sadler & Smith, had + put up some twelve million more. The drive promised to be quite an affair. + </p> + <p> + About the fifteenth of April attention became strained. Every day the + mounting sun made heavy attacks on the snow: every night the temperature + dropped below the freezing point. The river began to show more air holes, + occasional open places. About the center the ice looked worn and soggy. + Someone saw a flock of geese high in the air. Then came rain. + </p> + <p> + One morning early, Long Pine Jim came into the men's camp bearing a huge + chunk of tallow. This he held against the hot stove until its surface had + softened, when he began to swab liberal quantities of grease on his spiked + river shoes, which he fished out from under his bunk. + </p> + <p> + “She's comin', boys,” said he. + </p> + <p> + He donned a pair of woolen trousers that had been chopped off at the knee, + thick woolen stockings, and the river shoes. Then he tightened his broad + leather belt about his heavy shirt, cocked his little hat over his ear, + and walked over in the corner to select a peavey from the lot the + blacksmith had just put in shape. A peavey is like a cant-hook except that + it is pointed at the end. Thus it can be used either as a hook or a pike. + At the same moment Shearer, similarly attired and equipped, appeared in + the doorway. The opening of the portal admitted a roar of sound. The river + was rising. + </p> + <p> + “Come on, boys, she's on!” said he sharply. + </p> + <p> + Outside, the cook and cookee were stowing articles in the already loaded + wanigan. The scow contained tents, blankets, provisions, and a portable + stove. It followed the drive, and made a camp wherever expediency + demanded. + </p> + <p> + “Lively, boys, lively!” shouted Thorpe. “She'll be down on us before we + know it!” + </p> + <p> + Above the soft creaking of dead branches in the wind sounded a steady + roar, like the bellowing of a wild beast lashing itself to fury. The + freshet was abroad, forceful with the strength of a whole winter's + accumulated energy. + </p> + <p> + The men heard it and their eyes brightened with the lust of battle. They + cheered. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0046" id="link2HCH0046"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XLVI + </h2> + <p> + At the banks of the river, Thorpe rapidly issued his directions. The + affair had been all prearranged. During the week previous he and his + foremen had reviewed the situation, examining the state of the ice, the + heads of water in the three dams. Immediately above the first rollways was + Dam Three with its two wide sluices through which a veritable flood could + be loosened at will; then four miles farther lay the rollways of Sadler + & Smith, the up-river firm; and above them tumbled over a forty-five + foot ledge the beautiful Siscoe Falls; these first rollways of Thorpe's—spread + in the broad marsh flat below the dam—contained about eight + millions; the rest of the season's cut was scattered for thirty miles + along the bed of the river. + </p> + <p> + Already the ice cementing the logs together had begun to weaken. The ice + had wrenched and tugged savagely at the locked timbers until they had, + with a mighty effort, snapped asunder the bonds of their hibernation. Now + a narrow lane of black rushing water pierced the rollways, to boil and + eddy in the consequent jam three miles below. + </p> + <p> + To the foremen Thorpe assigned their tasks, calling them to him one by + one, as a general calls his aids. + </p> + <p> + “Moloney,” said he to the big Irishman, “take your crew and break that + jam. Then scatter your men down to within a mile of the pond at Dam Two, + and see that the river runs clear. You can tent for a day or so at West + Bend or some other point about half way down; and after that you had + better camp at the dam. Just as soon as you get logs enough in the pond, + start to sluicing them through the dam. You won't need more than four men + there, if you keep a good head. You can keep your gates open five or six + hours. And Moloney.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “I want you to be careful not to sluice too long. There is a bar just + below the dam, and if you try to sluice with the water too low, you'll + center and jam there, as sure as shooting.” + </p> + <p> + Bryan Moloney turned on his heel and began to pick his way down stream + over the solidly banked logs. Without waiting the command, a dozen men + followed him. The little group bobbed away irregularly into the distance, + springing lightly from one timber to the other, holding their + quaintly-fashioned peaveys in the manner of a rope dancer's balancing + pole. At the lowermost limit of the rollways, each man pried a log into + the water, and, standing gracefully erect on this unstable craft, floated + out down the current to the scene of his dangerous labor. + </p> + <p> + “Kerlie,” went on Thorpe, “your crew can break rollways with the rest + until we get the river fairly filled, and then you can move on down stream + as fast as you are needed. Scotty, you will have the rear. Tim and I will + boss the river.” + </p> + <p> + At once the signal was given to Ellis, the dam watcher. Ellis and his + assistants thereupon began to pry with long iron bars at the ratchets of + the heavy gates. The chore-boy bent attentively over the ratchet-pin, + lifting it delicately to permit another inch of raise, dropping it + accurately to enable the men at the bars to seize a fresh purchase. The + river's roar deepened. Through the wide sluice-ways a torrent foamed and + tumbled. Immediately it spread through the brush on either side to the + limits of the freshet banks, and then gathered for its leap against the + uneasy rollways. Along the edge of the dark channel the face of the logs + seemed to crumble away. Farther in towards the banks where the weight of + timber still outbalanced the weight of the flood, the tiers grumbled and + stirred, restless with the stream's calling. Far down the river, where + Bryan Moloney and his crew were picking at the jam, the water in eager + streamlets sought the interstices between the logs, gurgling excitedly + like a mountain brook. + </p> + <p> + The jam creaked and groaned in response to the pressure. From its face a + hundred jets of water spurted into the lower stream. Logs up-ended here + and there, rising from the bristling surface slowly, like so many arms + from lower depths. Above, the water eddied back foaming; logs shot down + from the rollways, paused at the slackwater, and finally hit with a hollow + and resounding BOOM! against the tail of the jam. A moment later they too + up-ended, so becoming an integral part of the “chevaux de frise.” + </p> + <p> + The crew were working desperately. Down in the heap somewhere, two logs + were crossed in such a manner as to lock the whole. They sought those + logs. + </p> + <p> + Thirty feet above the bed of the river six men clamped their peaveys into + the soft pine; jerking, pulling, lifting, sliding the great logs from + their places. Thirty feet below, under the threatening face, six other men + coolly picked out and set adrift, one by one, the timbers not inextricably + imbedded. From time to time the mass creaked, settled, perhaps even moved + a foot or two; but always the practiced rivermen, after a glance, bent + more eagerly to their work. + </p> + <p> + Outlined against the sky, big Bryan Moloney stood directing the work. He + had gone at the job on the bias of indirection, picking out a passage at + either side that the center might the more easily “pull.” He knew by the + tenseness of the log he stood on that, behind the jam, power had gathered + sufficient to push the whole tangle down-stream. Now he was offering it + the chance. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly the six men below the jam scattered. Four of them, holding their + peaveys across their bodies, jumped lightly from one floating log to + another in the zigzag to shore. When they stepped on a small log they + re-leaped immediately, leaving a swirl of foam where the little timber had + sunk under them; when they encountered one larger, they hesitated for a + barely perceptible instant. Thus their progression was of fascinating and + graceful irregularity. The other two ran the length of their footing, and, + overleaping an open of water, landed heavily and firmly on the very ends + of two small floating logs. In this manner the force of the jump rushed + the little timbers end-on through the water. The two men, maintaining + marvellously their balance, were thus ferried to within leaping distance + of the other shore. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime a barely perceptible motion was communicating itself from + one particle to another through the center of the jam. A cool and + observant spectator might have imagined that the broad timber carpet was + changing a little its pattern, just as the earth near the windows of an + arrested railroad train seems for a moment to retrogress. The crew + redoubled its exertions, clamping its peaveys here and there, apparently + at random, but in reality with the most definite of purposes. A sharp + crack exploded immediately underneath. There could no longer exist any + doubt as to the motion, although it was as yet sluggish, glacial. Then in + silence a log shifted—in silence and slowly—but with + irresistible force. Jimmy Powers quietly stepped over it, just as it + menaced his leg. Other logs in all directions up-ended. The jam crew were + forced continually to alter their positions, riding the changing timbers + bent-kneed, as a circus rider treads his four galloping horses. + </p> + <p> + Then all at once down by the face something crashed. The entire stream + became alive. It hissed and roared, it shrieked, groaned and grumbled. At + first slowly, then more rapidly, the very forefront of the center melted + inward and forward and downward until it caught the fierce rush of the + freshet and shot out from under the jam. Far up-stream, bristling and + formidable, the tons of logs, grinding savagely together, swept forward. + </p> + <p> + The six men and Bryan Moloney—who, it will be remembered, were on + top—worked until the last moment. When the logs began to cave under + them so rapidly that even the expert rivermen found difficulty in “staying + on top,” the foreman set the example of hunting safety. + </p> + <p> + “She 'pulls,' boys,” he yelled. + </p> + <p> + Then in a manner wonderful to behold, through the smother of foam and + spray, through the crash and yell of timbers protesting the flood's + hurrying, through the leap of destruction, the drivers zigzagged calmly + and surely to the shore. + </p> + <p> + All but Jimmy Powers. He poised tense and eager on the crumbling face of + the jam. Almost immediately he saw what he wanted, and without pause + sprang boldly and confidently ten feet straight downward, to alight with + accuracy on a single log floating free in the current. And then in the + very glory and chaos of the jam itself he was swept down-stream. + </p> + <p> + After a moment the constant acceleration in speed checked, then commenced + perceptibly to slacken. At once the rest of the crew began to ride + down-stream. Each struck the caulks of his river boots strongly into a + log, and on such unstable vehicles floated miles with the current. From + time to time, as Bryan Moloney indicated, one of them went ashore. There, + usually at a bend of the stream where the likelihood of jamming was great, + they took their stands. When necessary, they ran out over the face of the + river to separate a congestion likely to cause trouble. The rest of the + time they smoked their pipes. + </p> + <p> + At noon they ate from little canvas bags which had been filled that + morning by the cookee. At sunset they rode other logs down the river to + where their camp had been made for them. There they ate hugely, hung their + ice-wet garments over a tall framework constructed around a monster fire, + and turned in on hemlock branches. + </p> + <p> + All night long the logs slipped down the moonlit current, silently, + swiftly, yet without haste. The porcupines invaded the sleeping camp. From + the whole length of the river rang the hollow BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, of timbers + striking one against the other. + </p> + <p> + The drive was on. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0047" id="link2HCH0047"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XLVII + </h2> + <p> + In the meantime the main body of the crew under Thorpe and his foremen + were briskly tumbling the logs into the current. Sometimes under the + urging of the peaveys, but a single stick would slide down; or again a + double tier would cascade with the roar of a little Niagara. The men had + continually to keep on the tension of an alert, for at any moment they + were called upon to exercise their best judgment and quickness to keep + from being carried downward with the rush of the logs. Not infrequently a + frowning sheer wall of forty feet would hesitate on the brink of plunge. + Then Shearer himself proved his right to the title of riverman. + </p> + <p> + Shearer wore caulks nearly an inch in length. He had been known to ride + ten miles, without shifting his feet, on a log so small that he could + carry it without difficulty. For cool nerve he was unexcelled. + </p> + <p> + “I don't need you boys here any longer,” he said quietly. + </p> + <p> + When the men had all withdrawn, he walked confidently under the front of + the rollway, glancing with practiced eye at the perpendicular wall of logs + over him. Then, as a man pries jack-straws, he clamped his peavey and + tugged sharply. At once the rollway flattened and toppled. A mighty + splash, a hurl of flying foam and crushing timbers, and the spot on which + the riverman had stood was buried beneath twenty feet of solid green wood. + To Thorpe it seemed that Shearer must have been overwhelmed, but the + riverman always mysteriously appeared at one side or the other, + nonchalant, urging the men to work before the logs should have ceased to + move. Tradition claimed that only once in a long woods life had Shearer + been forced to “take water” before a breaking rollway: and then he saved + his peavey. History stated that he had never lost a man on the river, + simply and solely because he invariably took the dangerous tasks upon + himself. + </p> + <p> + As soon as the logs had caught the current, a dozen men urged them on. + With their short peaveys, the drivers were enabled to prevent the timbers + from swirling in the eddies—one of the first causes of a jam. At + last, near the foot of the flats, they abandoned them to the stream, + confident that Moloney and his crew would see to their passage down the + river. + </p> + <p> + In three days the rollways were broken. Now it became necessary to start + the rear. + </p> + <p> + For this purpose Billy Camp, the cook, had loaded his cook-stove, a + quantity of provisions, and a supply of bedding, aboard a scow. The scow + was built of tremendous hewn timbers, four or five inches thick, to + withstand the shock of the logs. At either end were long sweeps to direct + its course. The craft was perhaps forty feet long, but rather narrow, in + order that it might pass easily through the chute of a dam. It was called + the “wanigan.” + </p> + <p> + Billy Camp, his cookee, and his crew of two were now doomed to + tribulation. The huge, unwieldy craft from that moment was to become + possessed of the devil. Down the white water of rapids it would bump, + smashing obstinately against boulders, impervious to the frantic urging of + the long sweeps; against the roots and branches of the streamside it would + scrape with the perverseness of a vicious horse; in the broad reaches it + would sulk, refusing to proceed; and when expediency demanded its pause, + it would drag Billy Camp and his entire crew at the rope's end, while they + tried vainly to snub it against successively uprooted trees and stumps. + When at last the wanigan was moored fast for the night,—usually a + mile or so below the spot planned,—Billy Camp pushed back his + battered old brown derby hat, the badge of his office, with a sigh of + relief. To be sure he and his men had still to cut wood, construct cooking + and camp fires, pitch tents, snip browse, and prepare supper for seventy + men; but the hard work of the day was over. Billy Camp did not mind rain + or cold—he would cheerfully cook away with the water dripping from + his battered derby to his chubby and cold-purpled nose—but he did + mind the wanigan. And the worst of it was, he got no sympathy nor aid from + the crew. From either bank he and his anxious struggling assistants were + greeted with ironic cheers and facetious remarks. The tribulations of the + wanigan were as the salt of life to the spectators. + </p> + <p> + Billy Camp tried to keep back of the rear in clear water, but when the + wanigan so disposed, he found himself jammed close in the logs. There he + had a chance in his turn to become spectator, and so to repay in kind some + of the irony and facetiousness. + </p> + <p> + Along either bank, among the bushes, on sandbars, and in trees, hundreds + and hundreds of logs had been stranded when the main drive passed. These + logs the rear crew were engaged in restoring to the current. + </p> + <p> + And as a man had to be able to ride any kind of a log in any water; to + propel that log by jumping on it, by rolling it squirrel fashion with the + feet, by punting it as one would a canoe; to be skillful in pushing, + prying, and poling other logs from the quarter deck of the same cranky + craft; as he must be prepared at any and all times to jump waist deep into + the river, to work in ice-water hours at a stretch; as he was called upon + to break the most dangerous jams on the river, representing, as they did, + the accumulation which the jam crew had left behind them, it was naturally + considered the height of glory to belong to the rear crew. Here were the + best of the Fighting Forty,—men with a reputation as “white-water + birlers”—men afraid of nothing. + </p> + <p> + Every morning the crews were divided into two sections under Kerlie and + Jack Hyland. Each crew had charge of one side of the river, with the task + of cleaning it thoroughly of all stranded and entangled logs. Scotty + Parsons exercised a general supervisory eye over both crews. Shearer and + Thorpe traveled back and forth the length of the drive, riding the logs + down stream, but taking to a partly submerged pole trail when ascending + the current. On the surface of the river in the clear water floated two + long graceful boats called bateaux. These were in charge of expert + boatmen,—men able to propel their craft swiftly forwards, backwards + and sideways, through all kinds of water. They carried in racks a great + supply of pike-poles, peaveys, axes, rope and dynamite, for use in various + emergencies. Intense rivalry existed as to which crew “sacked” the + farthest down stream in the course of the day. There was no need to urge + the men. Some stood upon the logs, pushing mightily with the long + pike-poles. Others, waist deep in the water, clamped the jaws of their + peaveys into the stubborn timbers, and, shoulder bent, slid them slowly + but surely into the swifter waters. Still others, lining up on either side + of one of the great brown tree trunks, carried it bodily to its appointed + place. From one end of the rear to the other, shouts, calls, warnings, and + jokes flew back and forth. Once or twice a vast roar of Homeric laughter + went up as some unfortunate slipped and soused into the water. When the + current slacked, and the logs hesitated in their run, the entire crew + hastened, bobbing from log to log, down river to see about it. Then they + broke the jam, standing surely on the edge of the great darkness, while + the ice water sucked in and out of their shoes. + </p> + <p> + Behind the rear Big Junko poled his bateau backwards and forwards + exploding dynamite. Many of the bottom tiers of logs in the rollways had + been frozen down, and Big Junko had to loosen them from the bed of the + stream. He was a big man, this, as his nickname indicated, built of many + awkwardnesses. His cheekbones were high, his nose flat, his lips thick and + slobbery. He sported a wide, ferocious straggling mustache and long + eye-brows, under which gleamed little fierce eyes. His forehead sloped + back like a beast's, but was always hidden by a disreputable felt hat. Big + Junko did not know much, and had the passions of a wild animal, but he was + a reckless riverman and devoted to Thorpe. Just now he exploded dynamite. + </p> + <p> + The sticks of powder were piled amidships. Big Junko crouched over them, + inserting the fuses and caps, closing the openings with soap, finally + lighting them, and dropping them into the water alongside, where they + immediately sank. Then a few strokes of a short paddle took him barely out + of danger. He huddled down in his craft, waiting. One, two, three seconds + passed. Then a hollow boom shook the stream. A cloud of water sprang up, + strangely beautiful. After a moment the great brown logs rose suddenly to + the surface from below, one after the other, like leviathans of the deep. + And Junko watched, dimly fascinated, in his rudimentary animal's brain, by + the sight of the power he had evoked to his aid. + </p> + <p> + When night came the men rode down stream to where the wanigan had made + camp. There they slept, often in blankets wetted by the wanigan's + eccentricities, to leap to their feet at the first cry in early morning. + Some days it rained, in which case they were wet all the time. Almost + invariably there was a jam to break, though strangely enough almost every + one of the old-timers believed implicitly that “in the full of the moon + logs will run free at night.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe and Tim Shearer nearly always slept in a dog tent at the rear; + though occasionally they passed the night at Dam Two, where Bryan Moloney + and his crew were already engaged in sluicing the logs through the chute. + </p> + <p> + The affair was simple enough. Long booms arranged in the form of an open V + guided the drive to the sluice gate, through which a smooth apron of water + rushed to turmoil in an eddying pool below. Two men tramped steadily + backwards and forwards on the booms, urging the logs forward by means of + long pike poles to where the suction could seize them. Below the dam, the + push of the sluice water forced them several miles down stream, where the + rest of Bryan Moloney's crew took them in charge. + </p> + <p> + Thus through the wide gate nearly three-quarters of a million feet an hour + could be run—a quantity more than sufficient to keep pace with the + exertions of the rear. The matter was, of course, more or less delayed by + the necessity of breaking out such rollways as they encountered from time + to time on the banks. At length, however, the last of the logs drifted + into the wide dam pool. The rear had arrived at Dam Two, and Thorpe + congratulated himself that one stage of his journey had been completed. + Billy Camp began to worry about shooting the wanigan through the + sluice-way. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0048" id="link2HCH0048"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XLVIII + </h2> + <p> + The rear had been tenting at the dam for two days, and was about ready to + break camp, when Jimmy Powers swung across the trail to tell them of the + big jam. + </p> + <p> + Ten miles along the river bed, the stream dropped over a little half-falls + into a narrow, rocky gorge. It was always an anxious spot for the river + drivers. In fact, the plunging of the logs head-on over the fall had so + gouged out the soft rock below, that an eddy of great power had formed in + the basin. Shearer and Thorpe had often discussed the advisability of + constructing an artificial apron of logs to receive the impact. Here, in + spite of all efforts, the jam had formed, first a little center of a few + logs in the middle of the stream, dividing the current, and shunting the + logs to right and left; then “wings” growing out from either bank, built + up from logs shunted too violently; finally a complete stoppage of the + channel, and the consequent rapid piling up as the pressure of the drive + increased. Now the bed was completely filled, far above the level of the + falls, by a tangle that defied the jam crew's best efforts. + </p> + <p> + The rear at once took the trail down the river. Thorpe and Shearer and + Scotty Parsons looked over the ground. + </p> + <p> + “She may 'pull,' if she gets a good start,” decided Tim. + </p> + <p> + Without delay the entire crew was set to work. Nearly a hundred men can + pick a great many logs in the course of a day. Several times the jam + started, but always “plugged” before the motion had become irresistible. + This was mainly because the rocky walls narrowed at a slight bend to the + west, so that the drive was throttled, as it were. It was hoped that + perhaps the middle of the jam might burst through here, leaving the wings + stranded. The hope was groundless. + </p> + <p> + “We'll have to shoot,” Shearer reluctantly decided. + </p> + <p> + The men were withdrawn. Scotty Parsons cut a sapling twelve feet long, and + trimmed it. Big Junko thawed his dynamite at a little fire, opening the + ends of the packages in order that the steam generated might escape. + Otherwise the pressure inside the oiled paper of the package was capable + of exploding the whole affair. When the powder was warm, Scotty bound + twenty of the cartridges around the end of the sapling, adjusted a fuse in + one of them, and soaped the opening to exclude water. Then Big Junko + thrust the long javelin down into the depths of the jam, leaving a thin + stream of smoke behind him as he turned away. With sinister, evil eye he + watched the smoke for an instant, then zigzagged awkwardly over the jam, + the long, ridiculous tails of his brown cutaway coat flopping behind him + as he leaped. A scant moment later the hoarse dynamite shouted. + </p> + <p> + Great chunks of timber shot to an inconceivable height; entire logs lifted + bodily into the air with the motion of a fish jumping; a fountain of water + gleamed against the sun and showered down in fine rain. The jam shrugged + and settled. That was all; the “shot” had failed. + </p> + <p> + The men ran forward, examining curiously the great hole in the log + formation. + </p> + <p> + “We'll have to flood her,” said Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + So all the gates of the dam were raised, and the torrent tried its hand. + It had no effect. Evidently the affair was not one of violence, but of + patience. The crew went doggedly to work. + </p> + <p> + Day after day the CLANK, CLANK, CLINK of the peaveys sounded with the + regularity of machinery. The only practicable method was to pick away the + flank logs, leaving a long tongue pointing down-stream from the center to + start when it would. This happened time and again, but always failed to + take with it the main jam. It was cruel hard work; a man who has lifted + his utmost strength into a peavey knows that. Any but the Fighting Forty + would have grumbled. + </p> + <p> + Collins, the bookkeeper, came up to view the tangle. Later a photographer + from Marquette took some views, which, being exhibited, attracted a great + deal of attention, so that by the end of the week a number of curiosity + seekers were driving over every day to see the Big Jam. A certain Chicago + journalist in search of balsam health of lungs even sent to his paper a + little item. This, unexpectedly, brought Wallace Carpenter to the spot. + Although reassured as to the gravity of the situation, he remained to see. + </p> + <p> + The place was an amphitheater for such as chose to be spectators. They + could stand or sit on the summit of the gorge cliffs, overlooking the + river, the fall, and the jam. As the cliff was barely sixty feet high, the + view lacked nothing in clearness. + </p> + <p> + At last Shearer became angry. + </p> + <p> + “We've been monkeying long enough,” said he. “Next time we'll leave a + center that WILL go out. We'll shut the dams down tight and dry-pick out + two wings that'll start her.” + </p> + <p> + The dams were first run at full speed, and then shut down. Hardly a drop + of water flowed in the bed of the stream. The crews set laboriously to + work to pull and roll the logs out in such flat fashion that a head of + water should send them out. + </p> + <p> + This was even harder work than the other, for they had not the floating + power of water to help them in the lifting. As usual, part of the men + worked below, part above. + </p> + <p> + Jimmy Powers, curly-haired, laughing-faced, was irrepressible. He badgered + the others until they threw bark at him and menaced him with their + peaveys. Always he had at his tongue's end the proper quip for the + occasion, so that in the long run the work was lightened by him. When the + men stopped to think at all, they thought of Jimmy Powers with very kindly + hearts, for it was known that he had had more trouble than most, and that + the coin was not made too small for him to divide with a needy comrade. To + those who had seen his mask of whole-souled good-nature fade into serious + sympathy, Jimmy Powers's poor little jokes were very funny indeed. + </p> + <p> + “Did 'je see th' Swede at the circus las' summer?” he would howl to Red + Jacket on the top tier. + </p> + <p> + “No,” Red Jacket would answer, “was he there?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” Jimmy Powers would reply; then, after a pause—“in a cage!” + </p> + <p> + It was a poor enough jest, yet if you had been there, you would have found + that somehow the log had in the meantime leaped of its own accord from + that difficult position. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe approved thoroughly of Jimmy Powers; he thought him a good + influence. He told Wallace so, standing among the spectators on the + cliff-top. + </p> + <p> + “He is all right,” said Thorpe. “I wish I had more like him. The others + are good boys, too.” + </p> + <p> + Five men were at the moment tugging futilely at a reluctant timber. They + were attempting to roll one end of it over the side of another projecting + log, but were continually foiled, because the other end was jammed fast. + Each bent his knees, inserting his shoulder under the projecting peavey + stock, to straighten in a mighty effort. + </p> + <p> + “Hire a boy!” “Get some powder of Junko!” “Have Jimmy talk it out!” “Try + that little one over by the corner,” called the men on top of the jam. + </p> + <p> + Everybody laughed, of course. It was a fine spring day, clear-eyed and + crisp, with a hint of new foliage in the thick buds of the trees. The air + was so pellucid that one distinguished without difficulty the straight + entrance to the gorge a mile away, and even the West Bend, fully five + miles distant. + </p> + <p> + Jimmy Powers took off his cap and wiped his forehead. + </p> + <p> + “You boys,” he remarked politely, “think you are boring with a mighty big + auger.” + </p> + <p> + “My God!” screamed one of the spectators on top of the cliff. + </p> + <p> + At the same instant Wallace Carpenter seized his friend's arm and pointed. + </p> + <p> + Down the bed of the stream from the upper bend rushed a solid wall of + water several feet high. It flung itself forward with the headlong impetus + of a cascade. Even in the short interval between the visitor's exclamation + and Carpenter's rapid gesture, it had loomed into sight, twisted a dozen + trees from the river bank, and foamed into the entrance of the gorge. An + instant later it collided with the tail of the jam. + </p> + <p> + Even in the railroad rush of those few moments several things happened. + Thorpe leaped for a rope. The crew working on top of the jam ducked + instinctively to right and left and began to scramble towards safety. The + men below, at first bewildered and not comprehending, finally understood, + and ran towards the face of the jam with the intention of clambering up + it. There could be no escape in the narrow canyon below, the walls of + which rose sheer. + </p> + <p> + Then the flood hit square. It was the impact of resistible power. A great + sheet of water rose like surf from the tail of the jam; a mighty cataract + poured down over its surface, lifting the free logs; from either wing + timbers crunched, split, rose suddenly into wracked prominence, twisted + beyond the semblance of themselves. Here and there single logs were even + projected bodily upwards, as an apple seed is shot from between the thumb + and forefinger. Then the jam moved. + </p> + <p> + Scotty Parsons, Jack Hyland, Red Jacket, and the forty or fifty top men + had reached the shore. By the wriggling activity which is a riverman's + alone, they succeeded in pulling themselves beyond the snap of death's + jaws. It was a narrow thing for most of them, and a miracle for some. + </p> + <p> + Jimmy Powers, Archie Harris, Long Pine Jim, Big Nolan, and Mike Moloney, + the brother of Bryan, were in worse case. They were, as has been said, + engaged in “flattening” part of the jam about eight or ten rods below the + face of it. When they finally understood that the affair was one of + escape, they ran towards the jam, hoping to climb out. Then the crash + came. They heard the roar of the waters, the wrecking of the timbers, they + saw the logs bulge outwards in anticipation of the break. Immediately they + turned and fled, they knew not where. + </p> + <p> + All but Jimmy Powers. He stopped short in his tracks, and threw his + battered old felt hat defiantly full into the face of the destruction + hanging over him. Then, his bright hair blowing in the wind of death, he + turned to the spectators standing helpless and paralyzed, forty feet above + him. + </p> + <p> + It was an instant's impression,—the arrested motion seen in the + flash of lightning—and yet to the onlookers it had somehow the + quality of time. For perceptible duration it seemed to them they stared at + the contrast between the raging hell above and the yet peaceable river bed + below. They were destined to remember that picture the rest of their + natural lives, in such detail that each one of them could almost have + reproduced it photographically by simply closing his eyes. Yet afterwards, + when they attempted to recall definitely the impression, they knew it + could have lasted but a fraction of a second, for the reason that, clear + and distinct in each man's mind, the images of the fleeing men retained + definite attitudes. It was the instantaneous photography of events. + </p> + <p> + “So long, boys,” they heard Jimmy Powers's voice. Then the rope Thorpe had + thrown fell across a caldron of tortured waters and of tossing logs. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0049" id="link2HCH0049"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter XLIX + </h2> + <p> + During perhaps ten seconds the survivors watched the end of Thorpe's rope + trailing in the flood. Then the young man with a deep sigh began to pull + it towards him. + </p> + <p> + At once a hundred surmises, questions, ejaculations broke out. + </p> + <p> + “What happened?” cried Wallace Carpenter. + </p> + <p> + “What was that man's name?” asked the Chicago journalist with the eager + instinct of his profession. + </p> + <p> + “This is terrible, terrible, terrible!” a white-haired physician from + Marquette kept repeating over and over. + </p> + <p> + A half dozen ran towards the point of the cliff to peer down stream, as + though they could hope to distinguish anything in that waste of flood + water. + </p> + <p> + “The dam's gone out,” replied Thorpe. “I don't understand it. Everything + was in good shape, as far as I could see. It didn't act like an ordinary + break. The water came too fast. Why, it was as dry as a bone until just as + that wave came along. An ordinary break would have eaten through little by + little before it burst, and Davis should have been able to stop it. This + came all at once, as if the dam had disappeared. I don't see.” + </p> + <p> + His mind of the professional had already began to query causes. + </p> + <p> + “How about the men?” asked Wallace. “Isn't there something I can do?” + </p> + <p> + “You can head a hunt down the river,” answered Thorpe. “I think it is + useless until the water goes down. Poor Jimmy. He was one of the best men + I had. I wouldn't have had this happen—” + </p> + <p> + The horror of the scene was at last beginning to filter through numbness + into Wallace Carpenter's impressionable imagination. + </p> + <p> + “No, no!” he cried vehemently. “There is something criminal about it to + me! I'd rather lose every log in the river!” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe looked at him curiously. “It is one of the chances of war,” said + he, unable to refrain from the utterance of his creed. “We all know it.” + </p> + <p> + “I'd better divide the crew and take in both banks of the river,” + suggested Wallace in his constitutional necessity of doing something. + </p> + <p> + “See if you can't get volunteers from this crowd,” suggested Thorpe. “I + can let you have two men to show you trails. If you can make it that way, + it will help me out. I need as many of the crew as possible to use this + flood water.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Harry,” cried Carpenter, shocked. “You can't be going to work again + to-day after that horrible sight, before we have made the slightest effort + to recover the bodies!” + </p> + <p> + “If the bodies can be recovered, they shall be,” replied Thorpe quietly. + “But the drive will not wait. We have no dams to depend on now, you must + remember, and we shall have to get out on freshet water.” + </p> + <p> + “Your men won't work. I'd refuse just as they will!” cried Carpenter, his + sensibilities still suffering. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe smiled proudly. “You do not know them. They are mine. I hold them + in the hollow of my hand!” + </p> + <p> + “By Jove!” cried the journalist in sudden enthusiasm. “By Jove! that is + magnificent!” + </p> + <p> + The men of the river crew had crouched on their narrow footholds while the + jam went out. Each had clung to his peavey, as is the habit of rivermen. + Down the current past their feet swept the debris of flood. Soon logs + began to swirl by,—at first few, then many from the remaining + rollways which the river had automatically broken. In a little time the + eddy caught up some of these logs, and immediately the inception of + another jam threatened. The rivermen, without hesitation, as calmly as + though catastrophe had not thrown the weight of its moral terror against + their stoicism, sprang, peavey in hand, to the insistent work. + </p> + <p> + “By Jove!” said the journalist again. “That is magnificent! They are + working over the spot where their comrades died!” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe's face lit with gratification. He turned to the young man. + </p> + <p> + “You see,” he said in proud simplicity. + </p> + <p> + With the added danger of freshet water, the work went on. + </p> + <p> + At this moment Tim Shearer approached from inland, his clothes dripping + wet, but his face retaining its habitual expression of iron calmness. + “Anybody caught?” was his first question as he drew near. + </p> + <p> + “Five men under the face,” replied Thorpe briefly. + </p> + <p> + Shearer cast a glance at the river. He needed to be told no more. + </p> + <p> + “I was afraid of it,” said he. “The rollways must be all broken out. It's + saved us that much, but the freshet water won't last long. It's going to + be a close squeak to get 'em out now. Don't exactly figure on what struck + the dam. Thought first I'd go right up that way, but then I came down to + see about the boys.” + </p> + <p> + Carpenter could not understand this apparent callousness on the part of + men in whom he had always thought to recognize a fund of rough but genuine + feeling. To him the sacredness of death was incompatible with the + insistence of work. To these others the two, grim necessity, went hand in + hand. + </p> + <p> + “Where were you?” asked Thorpe of Shearer. + </p> + <p> + “On the pole trail. I got in a little, as you see.” + </p> + <p> + In reality the foreman had had a close call for his life. A toughly-rooted + basswood alone had saved him. + </p> + <p> + “We'd better go up and take a look,” he suggested. “Th' boys has things + going here all right.” + </p> + <p> + The two men turned towards the brush. + </p> + <p> + “Hi, Tim,” called a voice behind them. + </p> + <p> + Red Jacket appeared clambering up the cliff. + </p> + <p> + “Jack told me to give this to you,” he panted, holding out a chunk of + strangely twisted wood. + </p> + <p> + “Where'd he get this?” inquired Thorpe, quickly. “It's a piece of the + dam,” he explained to Wallace, who had drawn near. + </p> + <p> + “Picked it out of the current,” replied the man. + </p> + <p> + The foreman and his boss bent eagerly over the morsel. Then they stared + with solemnity into each other's eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Dynamite, by God!” exclaimed Shearer. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0050" id="link2HCH0050"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter L + </h2> + <p> + For a moment the three men stared at each other without speaking. + </p> + <p> + “What does it mean?” almost whispered Carpenter. + </p> + <p> + “Mean? Foul play!” snarled Thorpe. “Come on, Tim.” + </p> + <p> + The two struck into the brush, threading the paths with the ease of + woodsmen. It was necessary to keep to the high inland ridges for the + simple reason that the pole trail had by now become impassable. Wallace + Carpenter, attempting to follow them, ran, stumbled, and fell through + brush that continually whipped his face and garments, continually tripped + his feet. All he could obtain was a vanishing glimpse of his companions' + backs. Thorpe and his foreman talked briefly. + </p> + <p> + “It's Morrison and Daly,” surmised Shearer. “I left them 'count of a trick + like that. They wanted me to take charge of Perkinson's drive and hang her + a purpose. I been suspecting something—they've been layin' too low.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe answered nothing. Through the site of the old dam they found a + torrent pouring from the narrowed pond, at the end of which the + dilapidated wings flapping in the current attested the former structure. + Davis stood staring at the current. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe strode forward and shook him violently by the shoulder. + </p> + <p> + “How did this happen?” he demanded hoarsely. “Speak!” + </p> + <p> + The man turned to him in a daze. “I don't know,” he answered. + </p> + <p> + “You ought to know. How was that 'shot' exploded? How did they get in here + without you seeing them? Answer me!” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know,” repeated the man. “I jest went over in th' bresh to kill a + few pa'tridges, and when I come back I found her this way. I wasn't goin' + to close down for three hours yet, and I thought they was no use a hangin' + around here.” + </p> + <p> + “Were you hired to watch this dam, or weren't you?” demanded the tense + voice of Thorpe. “Answer me, you fool.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I was,” returned the man, a shade of aggression creeping into his + voice. + </p> + <p> + “Well, you've done it well. You've cost me my dam, and you've killed five + men. If the crew finds out about you, you'll go over the falls, sure. You + get out of here! Pike! Don't you ever let me see your face again!” + </p> + <p> + The man blanched as he thus learned of his comrades' deaths. Thorpe thrust + his face at him, lashed by circumstances beyond his habitual self-control. + </p> + <p> + “It's men like you who make the trouble,” he stormed. “Damn fools who say + they didn't mean to. It isn't enough not to mean to. They should MEAN NOT + TO! I don't ask you to think. I just want you to do what I tell you, and + you can't even do that.” + </p> + <p> + He threw his shoulder into a heavy blow that reached the dam watcher's + face, and followed it immediately by another. Then Shearer caught his arm, + motioning the dazed and bloody victim of the attack to get out of sight. + Thorpe shook his foreman off with one impatient motion, and strode away up + the river, his head erect, his eyes flashing, his nostrils distended. + </p> + <p> + “I reckon you'd better mosey,” Shearer dryly advised the dam watcher; and + followed. + </p> + <p> + Late in the afternoon the two men reached Dam Three, or rather the spot on + which Dam Three had stood. The same spectacle repeated itself here, except + that Ellis, the dam watcher, was nowhere to be seen. + </p> + <p> + “The dirty whelps,” cried Thorpe, “they did a good job!” + </p> + <p> + He thrashed about here and there, and so came across Ellis blindfolded and + tied. When released, the dam watcher was unable to give any account of his + assailants. + </p> + <p> + “They came up behind me while I was cooking,” he said. “One of 'em grabbed + me and the other one kivered my eyes. Then I hears the 'shot' and knows + there's trouble.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe listened in silence. Shearer asked a few questions. After the + low-voiced conversation Thorpe arose abruptly. + </p> + <p> + “Where you going?” asked Shearer. + </p> + <p> + But the young man did not reply. He swung, with the same long, nervous + stride, into the down-river trail. + </p> + <p> + Until late that night the three men—for Ellis insisted on + accompanying them—hurried through the forest. Thorpe walked + tirelessly, upheld by his violent but repressed excitement. When his hat + fell from his head, he either did not notice the fact, or did not care to + trouble himself for its recovery, so he glanced through the trees + bare-headed, his broad white brow gleaming in the moonlight. Shearer noted + the fire in his eyes, and from the coolness of his greater age, counselled + moderation. + </p> + <p> + “I wouldn't stir the boys up,” he panted, for the pace was very swift. + “They'll kill some one over there, it'll be murder on both sides.” + </p> + <p> + He received no answer. About midnight they came to the camp. + </p> + <p> + Two great fires leaped among the trees, and the men, past the idea of + sleep, grouped between them, talking. The lesson of twisted timbers was + not lost to their experience, and the evening had brought its accumulation + of slow anger against the perpetrators of the outrage. These men were not + given to oratorical mouthings, but their low-voiced exchanges between the + puffings of a pipe led to a steadier purpose than that of hysteria. Even + as the woodsmen joined their group, they had reached the intensity of + execution. Across their purpose Thorpe threw violently his personality. + </p> + <p> + “You must not go,” he commanded. + </p> + <p> + Through their anger they looked at him askance. + </p> + <p> + “I forbid it,” Thorpe cried. + </p> + <p> + They shrugged their indifference and arose. This was an affair of caste + brotherhood; and the blood of their mates cried out to them. + </p> + <p> + “The work,” Thorpe shouted hoarsely. “The work! We must get those logs + out! We haven't time!” + </p> + <p> + But the Fighting Forty had not Thorpe's ideal. Success meant a day's work + well done; while vengeance stood for a righting of the realities which had + been unrighteously overturned. Thorpe's dry-eyed, burning, almost mad + insistence on the importance of the day's task had not its ordinary force. + They looked upon him from a standpoint apart, calmly, dispassionately, as + one looks on a petulant child. The grim call of tragedy had lifted them + above little mundane things. + </p> + <p> + Then swiftly between the white, strained face of the madman trying to + convince his heart that his mind had been right, and the fanatically + exalted rivermen, interposed the sanity of Radway. The old jobber faced + the men calmly, almost humorously, and somehow the very bigness of the man + commanded attention. When he spoke, his coarse, good-natured, everyday + voice fell through the tense situation, clarifying it, restoring it to the + normal. + </p> + <p> + “You fellows make me sick,” said he. “You haven't got the sense God gave a + rooster. Don't you see you're playing right in those fellows' hands? What + do you suppose they dynamited them dams for? To kill our boys? Don't you + believe it for a minute. They never dreamed we was dry pickin' that jam. + They sent some low-lived whelp down there to hang our drive, and by smoke + it looks like they was going to succeed, thanks to you mutton-heads. + </p> + <p> + “'Spose you go over and take 'em apart; what then? You have a scrap; + probably you lick 'em.” The men growled ominously, but did not stir. “You + whale daylights out of a lot of men who probably don't know any more about + this here shooting of our dams than a hog does about a ruffled shirt. + Meanwhile your drive hangs. Well? Well? Do you suppose the men who were + back of that shooting, do you suppose Morrison and Daly give a tinker's + dam how many men of theirs you lick? What they want is to hang our drive. + If they hang our drive, it's cheap at the price of a few black eyes.” + </p> + <p> + The speaker paused and grinned good-humoredly at the men's attentive + faces. Then suddenly his own became grave, and he swung into his argument + all the impressiveness of his great bulk, + </p> + <p> + “Do you want to know how to get even?” he asked, shading each word. “Do + you want to know how to make those fellows sing so small you can't hear + them? Well, I'll tell you. TAKE OUT THIS DRIVE! Do it in spite of them! + Show them they're no good when they buck up against Thorpe's One! Our boys + died doing their duty—the way a riverman ought to. NOW HUMP + YOURSELVES! Don't let 'em die in vain!” + </p> + <p> + The crew stirred uneasily, looking at each other for approval of the + conversion each had experienced. Radway, seizing the psychological moment, + turned easily toward the blaze. + </p> + <p> + “Better turn in, boys, and get some sleep,” he said. “We've got a hard day + to-morrow.” He stooped to light his pipe at the fire. When he had again + straightened his back after rather a prolonged interval, the group had + already disintegrated. A few minutes later the cookee scattered the brands + of the fire from before a sleeping camp. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe had listened non-committally to the colloquy. He had maintained the + suspended attitude of a man who is willing to allow the trial of other + methods, but who does not therefore relinquish his own. At the favorable + termination of the discussion he turned away without comment. He expected + to gain this result. Had he been in a more judicial state of mind he might + have perceived at last the reason, in the complicated scheme of + Providence, for his long connection with John Radway. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0051" id="link2HCH0051"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter LI + </h2> + <p> + Before daylight Injin Charley drifted into the camp to find Thorpe already + out. With a curt nod the Indian seated himself by the fire, and, producing + a square plug of tobacco and a knife, began leisurely to fill his pipe. + Thorpe watched him in silence. Finally Injin Charley spoke in the red + man's clear-cut, imitative English, a pause between each sentence. + </p> + <p> + “I find trail three men,” said he. “Both dam, three men. One man go down + river. Those men have cork-boot. One man no have cork-boot. He boss.” The + Indian suddenly threw his chin out, his head back, half closed his eyes in + a cynical squint. As by a flash Dyer, the scaler, leered insolently from + behind the Indian's stolid mask. + </p> + <p> + “How do you know?” said Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + For answer the Indian threw his shoulders forward in Dyer's nervous + fashion. + </p> + <p> + “He make trail big by the toe, light by the heel. He make trail big on + inside.” + </p> + <p> + Charley arose and walked, after Dyer's springy fashion, illustrating his + point in the soft wood ashes of the immediate fireside. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe looked doubtful. “I believe you are right, Charley,” said he. “But + it is mighty little to go on. You can't be sure.” + </p> + <p> + “I sure,” replied Charley. + </p> + <p> + He puffed strongly at the heel of his smoke, then arose, and without + farewell disappeared in the forest. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe ranged the camp impatiently, glancing often at the sky. At length + he laid fresh logs on the fire and aroused the cook. It was bitter cold in + the early morning. After a time the men turned out of their own accord, at + first yawning with insufficient rest, and then becoming grimly tense as + their returned wits reminded them of the situation. + </p> + <p> + From that moment began the wonderful struggle against circumstances which + has become a by-word among rivermen everywhere. A forty-day drive had to + go out in ten. A freshet had to float out thirty million feet of logs. It + was tremendous; as even the men most deeply buried in the heavy hours of + that time dimly realized. It was epic; as the journalist, by now + thoroughly aroused, soon succeeded in convincing his editors and his + public. Fourteen, sixteen, sometimes eighteen hours a day, the men of the + driving crew worked like demons. Jams had no chance to form. The + phenomenal activity of the rear crew reduced by half the inevitable + sacking. Of course, under the pressure, the lower dam had gone out. + Nothing was to be depended on but sheer dogged grit. Far up-river Sadler + & Smith had hung their drive for the season. They had stretched heavy + booms across the current, and so had resigned themselves to a definite but + not extraordinary loss. Thorpe had at least a clear river. + </p> + <p> + Wallace Carpenter could not understand how human flesh and blood endured. + The men themselves had long since reached the point of practical + exhaustion, but were carried through by the fire of their leader. Work was + dogged until he stormed into sight; then it became frenzied. He seemed to + impart to those about him a nervous force and excitability as real as that + induced by brandy. When he looked at a man from his cavernous, burning + eyes, that man jumped. + </p> + <p> + It was all willing enough work. Several definite causes, each adequate + alone to something extraordinary, focussed to the necessity. His men + worshipped Thorpe; the idea of thwarting the purposes of their comrade's + murderers retained its strength; the innate pride of caste and craft—the + sturdiest virtue of the riverman—was in these picked men increased + to the dignity of a passion. The great psychological forces of a + successful career gathered and made head against the circumstances which + such careers always arouse in polarity. + </p> + <p> + Impossibilities were puffed aside like thistles. The men went at them + headlong. They gave way before the rush. Thorpe always led. Not for a + single instant of the day nor for many at night was he at rest. He was + like a man who has taken a deep breath to reach a definite goal, and who + cannot exhale until the burst of speed be over. Instinctively he seemed to + realize that a let-down would mean collapse. + </p> + <p> + After the camp had fallen asleep, he would often lie awake half of the few + hours of their night, every muscle tense, staring at the sky. His mind saw + definitely every detail of the situation as he had last viewed it. In + advance his imagination stooped and sweated to the work which his body was + to accomplish the next morning. Thus he did everything twice. Then at last + the tension would relax. He would fall into uneasy sleep. But twice that + did not follow. Through the dissolving iron mist of his striving, a sharp + thought cleaved like an arrow. It was that after all he did not care. The + religion of Success no longer held him as its devoutest worshiper. He was + throwing the fibers of his life into the engine of toil, not because of + moral duty, but because of moral pride. He meant to succeed in order to + prove to himself that he had not been wrong. + </p> + <p> + The pain of the arrow-wound always aroused him from his doze with a start. + He grimly laughed the thought out of court. To his waking moments his + religion was sincere, was real. But deep down in his sub-consciousness, + below his recognition, the other influence was growing like a weed. + Perhaps the vision, not the waking, had been right. Perhaps that far-off + beautiful dream of a girl which Thorpe's idealism had constructed from; + the reactionary necessities of Thorpe's harsh life had been more real than + his forest temples of his ruthless god! Perhaps there were greater things + than to succeed, greater things than success. Perhaps, after all, the + Power that put us here demands more that we cleave one to the other in + loving-kindness than that we learn to blow the penny whistles it has + tossed us. And then the keen, poignant memory of the dream girl stole into + the young man's mind, and in agony was immediately thrust forth. He would + not think of her. He had given her up. He had cast the die. For success he + had bartered her, in the noblest, the loftiest spirit of devotion. He + refused to believe that devotion fanatical; he refused to believe that he + had been wrong. In the still darkness of the night he would rise and steal + to the edge of the dully roaring stream. There, his eyes blinded and his + throat choked with a longing more manly than tears, he would reach out and + smooth the round rough coats of the great logs. + </p> + <p> + “We'll do it!” he whispered to them—and to himself. “We'll do it! We + can't be wrong. God would not have let us!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0052" id="link2HCH0052"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter LII + </h2> + <p> + Wallace Carpenter's search expedition had proved a failure, as Thorpe had + foreseen, but at the end of the week, when the water began to recede, the + little beagles ran upon a mass of flesh and bones. The man was + unrecognizable, either as an individual or as a human being. The remains + were wrapped in canvas and sent for interment in the cemetery at + Marquette. Three of the others were never found. The last did not come to + light until after the drive had quite finished. + </p> + <p> + Down at the booms the jam crew received the drive as fast as it came down. + From one crib to another across the broad extent of the river's mouth, + heavy booms were chained end to end effectually to close the exit to Lake + Superior. Against these the logs caromed softly in the slackened current, + and stopped. The cribs were very heavy with slanting, instead of square, + tops, in order that the pressure might be downwards instead of sidewise. + This guaranteed their permanency. In a short time the surface of the + lagoon was covered by a brown carpet of logs running in strange patterns + like windrows of fallen grain. Finally, across the straight middle + distance of the river, appeared little agitated specks leaping back and + forth. Thus the rear came in sight and the drive was all but over. + </p> + <p> + Up till now the weather had been clear but oppressively hot for this time + of year. The heat had come suddenly and maintained itself well. It had + searched out with fierce directness all the patches of snow lying under + the thick firs and balsams of the swamp edge, it had shaken loose the + anchor ice of the marsh bottoms, and so had materially aided the success + of the drive by increase of water. The men had worked for the most part in + undershirts. They were as much in the water as out of it, for the icy bath + had become almost grateful. Hamilton, the journalist, who had attached + himself definitely to the drive, distributed bunches of papers, in which + the men read that the unseasonable condition prevailed all over the + country. + </p> + <p> + At length, however, it gave signs of breaking. The sky, which had been of + a steel blue, harbored great piled thunder-heads. Occasionally athwart the + heat shot a streak of cold air. Towards evening the thunder-heads shifted + and finally dissipated, to be sure, but the portent was there. + </p> + <p> + Hamilton's papers began to tell of disturbances in the South and West. A + washout in Arkansas derailed a train; a cloud-burst in Texas wiped out a + camp; the cities along the Ohio River were enjoying their annual flood + with the usual concomitants of floating houses and boats in the streets. + The men wished they had some of that water here. + </p> + <p> + So finally the drive approached its end and all concerned began in + anticipation to taste the weariness that awaited them. They had hurried + their powers. The few remaining tasks still confronting them, all at once + seemed more formidable than what they had accomplished. They could not + contemplate further exertion. The work for the first time became dogged, + distasteful. Even Thorpe was infected. He, too, wanted more than anything + else to drop on the bed in Mrs. Hathaway's boarding house, there to sponge + from his mind all colors but the dead gray of rest. There remained but a + few things to do. A mile of sacking would carry the drive beyond the + influence of freshet water. After that there would be no hurry. + </p> + <p> + He looked around at the hard, fatigue-worn faces of the men about him, and + in the obsession of his wearied mood he suddenly felt a great rush of + affection for these comrades who had so unreservedly spent themselves for + his affair. Their features showed exhaustion, it is true, but their eyes + gleamed still with the steady half-humorous purpose of the pioneer. When + they caught his glance they grinned good-humoredly. + </p> + <p> + All at once Thorpe turned and started for the bank. + </p> + <p> + “That'll do, boys,” he said quietly to the nearest group. “She's down!” + </p> + <p> + It was noon. The sackers looked up in surprise. Behind them, to their very + feet, rushed the soft smooth slope of Hemlock Rapids. Below them flowed a + broad, peaceful river. The drive had passed its last obstruction. To all + intents and purposes it was over. + </p> + <p> + Calmly, with matter-of-fact directness, as though they had not achieved + the impossible; as though they, a handful, had not cheated nature and + powerful enemies, they shouldered their peaveys and struck into the broad + wagon road. In the middle distance loomed the tall stacks of the mill with + the little board town about it. Across the eye spun the thread of the + railroad. Far away gleamed the broad expanses of Lake Superior. + </p> + <p> + The cook had, early that morning, moored the wanigan to the bank. One of + the teamsters from town had loaded the men's “turkeys” on his heavy wagon. + The wanigan's crew had thereupon trudged into town. + </p> + <p> + The men paired off naturally and fell into a dragging, dogged walk. Thorpe + found himself unexpectedly with Big Junko. For a time they plodded on + without conversation. Then the big man ventured a remark. + </p> + <p> + “I'm glad she's over,” said he. “I got a good stake comin'.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” replied Thorpe indifferently. + </p> + <p> + “I got most six hundred dollars comin',” persisted Junko. + </p> + <p> + “Might as well be six hundred cents,” commented Thorpe, “it'd make you + just as drunk.” + </p> + <p> + Big Junko laughed self-consciously but without the slightest resentment. + </p> + <p> + “That's all right,” said he, “but you betcher life I don't blow this + stake.” + </p> + <p> + “I've heard that talk before,” shrugged Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, but this is different. I'm goin' to git married on this. How's + THAT?” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe, his attention struck at last, stared at his companion. He noted + the man's little twinkling animal eyes, his high cheek bones, his flat + nose, his thick and slobbery lips, his straggling, fierce mustache and + eyebrows, his grotesque long-tailed cutaway coat. So to him, too, this + primitive man reaching dully from primordial chaos, the great moment had + yielded its vision. + </p> + <p> + “Who is she?” he asked abruptly. + </p> + <p> + “She used to wash at Camp Four.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe dimly remembered the woman now—an overweighted creature with + a certain attraction of elfishly blowing hair, with a certain pleasing + full-cheeked, full-bosomed health. + </p> + <p> + The two walked on in re-established silence. Finally the giant, unable to + contain himself longer, broke out again. + </p> + <p> + “I do like that woman,” said he with a quaintly deliberate seriousness. + “That's the finest woman in this district.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe felt the quick moisture rush to his eyes. There was something + inexpressibly touching in those simple words as Big Junko uttered them. + </p> + <p> + “And when you are married,” he asked, “what are you going to do? Are you + going to stay on the river?” + </p> + <p> + “No, I'm goin' to clear a farm. The woman she says that's the thing to do. + I like the river, too. But you bet when Carrie says a thing, that's plenty + good enough for Big Junko.” + </p> + <p> + “Suppose,” suggested Thorpe, irresistibly impelled towards the attempt, + “suppose I should offer you two hundred dollars a month to stay on the + river. Would you stay?” + </p> + <p> + “Carrie don't like it,” replied Junko. + </p> + <p> + “Two hundred dollars is big wages,” persisted Thorpe. “It's twice what I + give Radway.” + </p> + <p> + “I'd like to ask Carrie.” + </p> + <p> + “No, take it or leave it now.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, Carrie says she don't like it,” answered the riverman with a sigh. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe looked at his companion fixedly. Somehow the bestial countenance + had taken on an attraction of its own. He remembered Big Junko as a wild + beast when his passions were aroused, as a man whose honesty had been + doubted. + </p> + <p> + “You've changed, Junko,” said he. + </p> + <p> + “I know,” said the big man. “I been a scalawag all right. I quit it. I + don't know much, but Carrie she's smart, and I'm goin' to do what she + says. When you get stuck on a good woman like Carrie, Mr. Thorpe, you + don't give much of a damn for anything else. Sure! That's right! It's the + biggest thing top o' earth!” + </p> + <p> + Here it was again, the opposing creed. And from such a source. Thorpe's + iron will contracted again. + </p> + <p> + “A woman is no excuse for a man's neglecting his work,” he snapped. + </p> + <p> + “Shorely not,” agreed Junko serenely. “I aim to finish out my time all + right, Mr. Thorpe. Don't you worry none about that. I done my best for + you. And,” went on the riverman in the expansion of this unwonted + confidence with his employer, “I'd like to rise to remark that you're the + best boss I ever had, and we boys wants to stay with her till there's + skating in hell!” + </p> + <p> + “All right,” murmured Thorpe indifferently. + </p> + <p> + His momentary interest had left him. Again the reactionary weariness + dragged at his feet. Suddenly the remaining half mile to town seemed very + long indeed. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0053" id="link2HCH0053"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter LIII + </h2> + <p> + Wallace Carpenter and Hamilton, the journalist, seated against the + sun-warmed bench of Mrs. Hathaway's boarding-house, commented on the band + as it stumbled in to the wash-room. + </p> + <p> + “Those men don't know how big they are,” remarked the journalist. “That's + the way with most big men. And that man Thorpe belongs to another age. I'd + like to get him to telling his experiences; he'd be a gold mine to me.” + </p> + <p> + “And would require about as much trouble to 'work,'” laughed Wallace. “He + won't talk.” + </p> + <p> + “That's generally the trouble, confound 'em,” sighed Hamilton. “The + fellows who CAN talk haven't anything to say; and those who have something + to tell are dumb as oysters. I've got him in though.” He spread one of a + roll of papers on his knees. “I got a set of duplicates for you. Thought + you might like to keep them. The office tells me,” he concluded modestly, + “that they are attracting lots of attention, but are looked upon as being + a rather clever sort of fiction.” + </p> + <p> + Wallace picked up the sheet. His eye was at once met by the heading, “'So + long, boys,'” in letters a half inch in height, and immediately underneath + in smaller type, “said Jimmy Powers, and threw his hat in the face of + death.” + </p> + <p> + “It's all there,” explained the journalist, “—the jam and the break, + and all this magnificent struggle afterwards. It makes a great yarn. I + feel tempted sometimes to help it out a little—artistically, you + know—but of course that wouldn't do. She'd make a ripping yarn, + though, if I could get up some motive outside mere trade rivalry for the + blowing up of those dams. That would just round it off.” + </p> + <p> + Wallace Carpenter was about to reply that such a motive actually existed, + when the conversation was interrupted by the approach of Thorpe and Big + Junko. The former looked twenty years older after his winter. His eye was + dull, his shoulders drooped, his gait was inelastic. The whole bearing of + the man was that of one weary to the bone. + </p> + <p> + “I've got something here to show you, Harry,” cried Wallace Carpenter, + waving one of the papers. “It was a great drive and here's something to + remember it by.” + </p> + <p> + “All right, Wallace, by and by,” replied Thorpe dully. “I'm dead. I'm + going to turn in for a while. I need sleep more than anything else. I + can't think now.” + </p> + <p> + He passed through the little passage into the “parlor bed-room,” which + Mrs. Hathaway always kept in readiness for members of the firm. There he + fell heavily asleep almost before his body had met the bed. + </p> + <p> + In the long dining room the rivermen consumed a belated dinner. They had + no comments to make. It was over. + </p> + <p> + The two on the veranda smoked. To the right, at the end of the sawdust + street, the mill sang its varying and lulling keys. The odor of + fresh-sawed pine perfumed the air. Not a hundred yards away the river + slipped silently to the distant blue Superior, escaping between the + slanting stone-filled cribs which held back the logs. Down the south and + west the huge thunderheads gathered and flashed and grumbled, as they had + done every afternoon for days previous. + </p> + <p> + “Queer thing,” commented Hamilton finally, “these cold streaks in the air. + They are just as distinct as though they had partitions around them.” + </p> + <p> + “Queer climate anyway,” agreed Carpenter. + </p> + <p> + Excepting always for the mill, the little settlement appeared asleep. The + main booms were quite deserted. Not a single figure, armed with its + picturesque pike-pole, loomed athwart the distance. After awhile Hamilton + noticed something. + </p> + <p> + “Look here, Carpenter,” said he, “what's happening out there? Have some of + your confounded logs SUNK, or what? There don't seem to be near so many of + them somehow.” + </p> + <p> + “No, it isn't that,” proffered Carpenter after a moment's scrutiny, “there + are just as many logs, but they are getting separated a little so you can + see the open water between them.” + </p> + <p> + “Guess you're right. Say, look here, I believe that the river is rising!” + </p> + <p> + “Nonsense, we haven't had any rain.” + </p> + <p> + “She's rising just the same. I'll tell you how I know; you see that spile + over there near the left-hand crib? Well, I sat on the boom this morning + watching the crew, and I whittled the spile with my knife—you can + see the marks from here. I cut the thing about two feet above the water. + Look at it now.” + </p> + <p> + “She's pretty near the water line, that's right,” admitted Carpenter. + </p> + <p> + “I should think that might make the boys hot,” commented Hamilton. “If + they'd known this was coming, they needn't have hustled so to get the + drive down. + </p> + <p> + “That's so,” Wallace agreed. + </p> + <p> + About an hour later the younger man in his turn made a discovery. + </p> + <p> + “She's been rising right along,” he submitted. “Your marks are nearer the + water, and, do you know, I believe the logs are beginning to feel it. See, + they've closed up the little openings between them, and they are beginning + to crowd down to the lower end of the pond.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know anything about this business,” hazarded the journalist, “but + by the mere look of the thing I should think there was a good deal of + pressure on that same lower end. By Jove, look there! See those logs + up-end? I believe you're going to have a jam right here in your own + booms!” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know,” hesitated Wallace, “I never heard of its happening.” + </p> + <p> + “You'd better let someone know.” + </p> + <p> + “I hate to bother Harry or any of the rivermen. I'll just step down to the + mill. Mason—he's our mill foreman—he'll know.” + </p> + <p> + Mason came to the edge of the high trestle and took one look. + </p> + <p> + “Jumping fish-hooks!” he cried. “Why, the river's up six inches and still + a comin'! Here you, Tom!” he called to one of the yard hands, “you tell + Solly to get steam on that tug double quick, and have Dave hustle together + his driver crew.” + </p> + <p> + “What you going to do?” asked Wallace. + </p> + <p> + “I got to strengthen the booms,” explained the mill foreman. “We'll drive + some piles across between the cribs.” + </p> + <p> + “Is there any danger?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no, the river would have to rise a good deal higher than she is now + to make current enough to hurt. They've had a hard rain up above. This + will go down in a few hours.” + </p> + <p> + After a time the tug puffed up to the booms, escorting the pile driver. + The latter towed a little raft of long sharpened piles, which it at once + began to drive in such positions as would most effectually strengthen the + booms. In the meantime the thunder-heads had slyly climbed the heavens, so + that a sudden deluge of rain surprised the workmen. For an hour it poured + down in torrents; then settled to a steady gray beat. Immediately the + aspect had changed. The distant rise of land was veiled; the brown expanse + of logs became slippery and glistening; the river below the booms was + picked into staccato points by the drops; distant Superior turned lead + color and seemed to tumble strangely athwart the horizon. + </p> + <p> + Solly, the tug captain, looked at his mooring hawsers and then at the + nearest crib. + </p> + <p> + “She's riz two inches in th' las' two hours,” he announced, “and she's + runnin' like a mill race.” Solly was a typical north-country tug captain, + short and broad, with a brown, clear face, and the steadiest and calmest + of steel-blue eyes. “When she begins to feel th' pressure behind,” he went + on, “there's goin' to be trouble.” + </p> + <p> + Towards dusk she began to feel that pressure. Through the rainy twilight + the logs could be seen raising their ghostly arms of protest. Slowly, + without tumult, the jam formed. In the van the logs crossed silently; in + the rear they pressed in, were sucked under in the swift water, and came + to rest at the bottom of the river. The current of the river began to + protest, pressing its hydraulics through the narrowing crevices. The + situation demanded attention. + </p> + <p> + A breeze began to pull off shore in the body of rain. Little by little it + increased, sending the water by in gusts, ruffling the already hurrying + river into greater haste, raising far from the shore dimly perceived + white-caps. Between the roaring of the wind, the dash of rain, and the + rush of the stream, men had to shout to make themselves heard. + </p> + <p> + “Guess you'd better rout out the boss,” screamed Solly to Wallace + Carpenter; “this damn water's comin' up an inch an hour right along. When + she backs up once, she'll push this jam out sure.” + </p> + <p> + Wallace ran to the boarding house and roused his partner from a heavy + sleep. The latter understood the situation at a word. While dressing, he + explained to the younger man wherein lay the danger. + </p> + <p> + “If the jam breaks once,” said he, “nothing top of earth can prevent it + from going out into the Lake, and there it'll scatter, Heaven knows where. + Once scattered, it is practically a total loss. The salvage wouldn't pay + the price of the lumber.” + </p> + <p> + They felt blindly through the rain in the direction of the lights on the + tug and pile-driver. Shearer, the water dripping from his flaxen mustache, + joined them like a shadow. + </p> + <p> + “I heard you come in,” he explained to Carpenter. At the river he + announced his opinion. “We can hold her all right,” he assured them. + “It'll take a few more piles, but by morning the storm'll be over, and + she'll begin to go down again.” + </p> + <p> + The three picked their way over the creaking, swaying timber. But when + they reached the pile-driver, they found trouble afoot. The crew had + mutinied, and refused longer to drive piles under the face of the jam. + </p> + <p> + “If she breaks loose, she's going to bury us,” said they. + </p> + <p> + “She won't break,” snapped Shearer, “get to work.” + </p> + <p> + “It's dangerous,” they objected sullenly. + </p> + <p> + “By God, you get off this driver,” shouted Solly. “Go over and lie down in + a ten-acre lot, and see if you feel safe there!” + </p> + <p> + He drove them ashore with a storm of profanity and a multitude of kicks, + his steel-blue eyes blazing. + </p> + <p> + “There's nothing for it but to get the boys out again,” said Tim; “I + kinder hate to do it.” + </p> + <p> + But when the Fighting Forty, half asleep but dauntless, took charge of the + driver, a catastrophe made itself known. One of the ejected men had + tripped the lifting chain of the hammer after another had knocked away the + heavy preventing block, and so the hammer had fallen into the river and + was lost. None other was to be had. The pile driver was useless. + </p> + <p> + A dozen men were at once despatched for cables, chains, and wire ropes + from the supply at the warehouse. + </p> + <p> + “I'd like to have those whelps here,” cried Shearer, “I'd throw them under + the jam.” + </p> + <p> + “It's part of the same trick,” said Thorpe grimly; “those fellows have + their men everywhere among us. I don't know whom to trust.” + </p> + <p> + “You think it's Morrison & Daly?” queried Carpenter astonished. + </p> + <p> + “Think? I know it. They know as well as you or I that if we save these + logs, we'll win out in the stock exchange; and they're not such fools as + to let us save them if it can be helped. I have a score to settle with + those fellows; and when I get through with this thing I'll settle it all + right.” + </p> + <p> + “What are you going to do now?” + </p> + <p> + “The only thing there is to be done. We'll string heavy booms, chained + together, between the cribs, and then trust to heaven they'll hold. I + think we can hold the jam. The water will begin to flow over the bank + before long, so there won't be much increase of pressure over what we have + now; and as there won't be any shock to withstand, I think our heavy booms + will do the business.” + </p> + <p> + He turned to direct the boring of some long boom logs in preparation for + the chains. Suddenly he whirled again to Wallace with so strange an + expression in his face that the young man almost cried out. The uncertain + light of the lanterns showed dimly the streaks of rain across his + countenance, and, his eye flared with a look almost of panic. + </p> + <p> + “I never thought of it!” he said in a low voice. “Fool that I am! I don't + see how I missed it. Wallace, don't you see what those devils will do + next?” + </p> + <p> + “No, what do you mean?” gasped the younger man. + </p> + <p> + “There are twelve million feet of logs up river in Sadler & Smith's + drive. Don't you see what they'll do?” + </p> + <p> + “No, I don't believe—” + </p> + <p> + “Just as soon as they find out that the river is booming, and that we are + going to have a hard time to hold our jam, they'll let loose those twelve + million on us. They'll break the jam, or dynamite it, or something. And + let me tell you, that a very few logs hitting the tail of our jam will + start the whole shooting match so that no power on earth can stop it.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't imagine they'd think of doing that—” began Wallace by way + of assurance. + </p> + <p> + “Think of it! You don't know them. They've thought of everything. You + don't know that man Daly. Ask Tim, he'll tell you.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, the—” + </p> + <p> + “I've got to send a man up there right away. Perhaps we can get there in + time to head them off. They have to send their man over—By the way,” + he queried, struck with a new idea, “how long have you been driving + piles?” + </p> + <p> + “Since about three o'clock.” + </p> + <p> + “Six hours,” computed Thorpe. “I wish you'd come for me sooner.” + </p> + <p> + He cast his eye rapidly over the men. + </p> + <p> + “I don't know just who to send. There isn't a good enough woodsman in the + lot to make Siscoe Falls through the woods a night like this. The river + trail is too long; and a cut through the woods is blind. Andrews is the + only man I know of who could do it, but I think Billy Mason said Andrews + had gone up on the Gunther track to run lines. Come on; we'll see.” + </p> + <p> + With infinite difficulty and caution, they reached the shore. Across the + gleaming logs shone dimly the lanterns at the scene of work, ghostly + through the rain. Beyond, on either side, lay impenetrable drenched + darkness, racked by the wind. + </p> + <p> + “I wouldn't want to tackle it,” panted Thorpe. “If it wasn't for that + cursed tote road between Sadler's and Daly's, I wouldn't worry. It's just + too EASY for them.” + </p> + <p> + Behind them the jam cracked and shrieked and groaned. Occasionally was + heard, beneath the sharper noises, a dull BOOM, as one of the heavy + timbers forced by the pressure from its resting place, shot into the air, + and fell back on the bristling surface. + </p> + <p> + Andrews had left that morning. + </p> + <p> + “Tim Shearer might do it,” suggested Thorpe, “but I hate to spare him.” + </p> + <p> + He picked his rifle from its rack and thrust the magazine full of + cartridges. + </p> + <p> + “Come on, Wallace,” said he, “we'll hunt him up.” + </p> + <p> + They stepped again into the shriek and roar of the storm, bending their + heads to its power, but indifferent in the already drenched condition of + their clothing, to the rain. The saw-dust street was saturated like a + sponge. They could feel the quick water rise about the pressure at their + feet. From the invisible houses they heard a steady monotone of flowing + from the roofs. Far ahead, dim in the mist, sprayed the light of lanterns. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly Thorpe felt a touch on his arm. Faintly he perceived at his elbow + the high lights of a face from which the water streamed. + </p> + <p> + “Injin Charley!” he cried, “the very man!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0054" id="link2HCH0054"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter LIV + </h2> + <p> + Rapidly Thorpe explained what was to be done, and thrust his rifle into + the Indian's hands. The latter listened in silence and stolidity, then + turned, and without a word departed swiftly in the darkness. The two white + men stood a minute attentive. Nothing was to be heard but the steady beat + of rain and the roaring of the wind. + </p> + <p> + Near the bank of the river they encountered a man, visible only as an + uncertain black outline against the glow of the lanterns beyond. Thorpe, + stopping him, found Big Junko. + </p> + <p> + “This is no time to quit,” said Thorpe, sharply. + </p> + <p> + “I ain't quittin',” replied Big Junko. + </p> + <p> + “Where are you going, then?” + </p> + <p> + Junko was partially and stammeringly unresponsive. + </p> + <p> + “Looks bad,” commented Thorpe. “You'd better get back to your job.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” agreed Junko helplessly. In the momentary slack tide of work, the + giant had conceived the idea of searching out the driver crew for purposes + of pugilistic vengeance. Thorpe's suspicions stung him, but his simple + mind could see no direct way to explanation. + </p> + <p> + All night long in the chill of a spring rain and windstorm the Fighting + Forty and certain of the mill crew gave themselves to the labor of + connecting the slanting stone cribs so strongly, by means of heavy timbers + chained end to end, that the pressure of a break in the jam might not + sweep aside the defenses. Wallace Carpenter, Shorty, the chore-boy, and + Anderson, the barn-boss, picked a dangerous passage back and forth + carrying pails of red-hot coffee which Mrs. Hathaway constantly prepared. + The cold water numbed the men's hands. With difficulty could they + manipulate the heavy chains through the auger holes; with pain they + twisted knots, bored holes. They did not complain. Behind them the jam + quivered, perilously near the bursting point. From it shrieked aloud the + demons of pressure. Steadily the river rose, an inch an hour. The key + might snap at any given moment, they could not tell,—and with the + rush they knew very well that themselves, the tug, and the disabled + piledriver would be swept from existence. The worst of it was that the + blackness shrouded their experience into uselessness; they were utterly + unable to tell by the ordinary visual symptoms how near the jam might be + to collapse. + </p> + <p> + However, they persisted, as the old-time riverman always does, so that + when dawn appeared the barrier was continuous and assured. Although the + pressure of the river had already forced the logs against the defenses, + the latter held the strain well. + </p> + <p> + The storm had settled into its gait. Overhead the sky was filled with + gray, beneath which darker scuds flew across the zenith before a howling + southwest wind. Out in the clear river one could hardly stand upright + against the gusts. In the fan of many directions furious squalls swept + over the open water below the booms, and an eager boiling current rushed + to the lake. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe now gave orders that the tug and driver should take shelter. A few + moments later he expressed himself as satisfied. The dripping crew, their + harsh faces gray in the half-light, picked their way to the shore. + </p> + <p> + In the darkness of that long night's work no man knew his neighbor. Men + from the river, men from the mill, men from the yard all worked side by + side. Thus no one noticed especially a tall, slender, but well-knit + individual dressed in a faded mackinaw and a limp slouch hat which he wore + pulled over his eyes. This young fellow occupied himself with the chains. + Against the racing current the crew held the ends of the heavy booms, + while he fastened them together. He worked well, but seemed slow. Three + times Shearer hustled him on after the others had finished, examining + closely the work that had been done. On the third occasion he shrugged his + shoulder somewhat impatiently. + </p> + <p> + The men straggled to shore, the young fellow just described bringing up + the rear. He walked as though tired out, hanging his head and dragging his + feet. When, however, the boarding-house door had closed on the last of + those who preceded him, and the town lay deserted in the dawn, he suddenly + became transformed. Casting a keen glance right and left to be sure of his + opportunity, he turned and hurried recklessly back over the logs to the + center booms. There he knelt and busied himself with the chains. + </p> + <p> + In his zigzag progression over the jam he so blended with the morning + shadows as to seem one of them, and he would have escaped quite unnoticed + had not a sudden shifting of the logs under his feet compelled him to rise + for a moment to his full height. So Wallace Carpenter, passing from his + bedroom, along the porch, to the dining room, became aware of the man on + the logs. + </p> + <p> + His first thought was that something demanding instant attention had + happened to the boom. He therefore ran at once to the man's assistance, + ready to help him personally or to call other aid as the exigency + demanded. Owing to the precarious nature of the passage, he could not see + beyond his feet until very close to the workman. Then he looked up to find + the man, squatted on the boom, contemplating him sardonically. + </p> + <p> + “Dyer!” he exclaimed + </p> + <p> + “Right, my son,” said the other coolly. + </p> + <p> + “What are you doing?” + </p> + <p> + “If you want to know, I am filing this chain.” + </p> + <p> + Wallace made one step forward and so became aware that at last firearms + were taking a part in this desperate game. + </p> + <p> + “You stand still,” commanded Dyer from behind the revolver. “It's + unfortunate for you that you happened along, because now you'll have to + come with me till this little row is over. You won't have to stay long; + your logs'll go out in an hour. I'll just trouble you to go into the brush + with me for a while.” + </p> + <p> + The scaler picked his file from beside the weakened link. + </p> + <p> + “What have you against us, anyway, Dyer?” asked Wallace. His quick mind + had conceived a plan. At the moment, he was standing near the outermost + edge of the jam, but now as he spoke he stepped quietly to the boom log. + </p> + <p> + Dyer's black eyes gleamed at him suspiciously, but the movement appeared + wholly natural in view of the return to shore. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing,” he replied. “I didn't like your gang particularly, but that's + nothing.” + </p> + <p> + “Why do you take such nervy chances to injure us?” queried Carpenter. + </p> + <p> + “Because there's something in it,” snapped the scaler. “Now about face; + mosey!” + </p> + <p> + Like a flash Wallace wheeled and dropped into the river, swimming as fast + as possible below water before his breath should give out. The swift + current hurried him away. When at last he rose for air, the spit of Dyer's + pistol caused him no uneasiness. A moment later he struck out boldly for + shore. + </p> + <p> + What Dyer's ultimate plan might be, he could not guess. He had stated + confidently that the jam would break “in an hour.” He might intend to + start it with dynamite. Wallace dragged himself from the water and + commenced breathlessly to run toward the boarding-house. + </p> + <p> + Dyer had already reached the shore. Wallace raised what was left of his + voice in a despairing shout. The scaler mockingly waved his hat, then + turned and ran swiftly and easily toward the shelter of the woods. At + their border he paused again to bow in derision. Carpenter's cry brought + men to the boarding-house door. From the shadows of the forest two vivid + flashes cut the dusk. Dyer staggered, turned completely about, seemed + partially to recover, and disappeared. An instant later, across the open + space where the scaler had stood, with rifle a-trail, the Indian leaped in + pursuit. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0055" id="link2HCH0055"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter LV + </h2> + <p> + “What is it?” “What's the matter?” “What's happened?” burst on Wallace in + a volley. + </p> + <p> + “It's Dyer,” gasped the young man. “I found him on the boom! He held me up + with a gun while he filed the boom chains between the center piers. + They're just ready to go. I got away by diving. Hurry and put in a new + chain; you haven't much time!” + </p> + <p> + “He's a gone-er now,” interjected Solly grimly.—“Charley is on his + trail—and he is hit.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe's intelligence leaped promptly to the practical question. + </p> + <p> + “Injin Charley, where'd he come from? I sent him up Sadler & Smith's. + It's twenty miles, even through the woods.” + </p> + <p> + As though by way of colossal answer the whole surface of the jam moved + inward and upward, thrusting the logs bristling against the horizon. + </p> + <p> + “She's going to break!” shouted Thorpe, starting on a run towards the + river. “A chain, quick!” + </p> + <p> + The men followed, strung high with excitement. Hamilton, the journalist, + paused long enough to glance up-stream. Then he, too, ran after them, + screaming that the river above was full of logs. By that they all knew + that Injin Charley's mission had failed, and that something under ten + million feet of logs were racing down the river like so many battering + rams. + </p> + <p> + At the boom the great jam was already a-tremble with eagerness to spring. + Indeed a miracle alone seemed to hold the timbers in their place. + </p> + <p> + “It's death, certain death, to go out on that boom,” muttered Billy Mason. + </p> + <p> + Tim Shearer stepped forward coolly, ready as always to assume the perilous + duty. He was thrust back by Thorpe, who seized the chain, cold-shut and + hammer which Scotty Parsons brought, and ran lightly out over the booms, + shouting, + </p> + <p> + “Back! back! Don't follow me, on your lives! Keep 'em back, Tim!” + </p> + <p> + The swift water boiled from under the booms. BANG! SMASH! BANG! crashed + the logs, a mile upstream, but plainly audible above the waters and the + wind. Thorpe knelt, dropped the cold-shut through on either side of the + weakened link, and prepared to close it with his hammer. He intended + further to strengthen the connection with the other chain. + </p> + <p> + “Lem' me hold her for you. You can't close her alone,” said an unexpected + voice next his elbow. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe looked up in surprise and anger. Over him leaned Big Junko. The men + had been unable to prevent his following. Animated by the blind devotion + of the animal for its master, and further stung to action by that master's + doubt of his fidelity, the giant had followed to assist as he might. + </p> + <p> + “You damned fool,” cried Thorpe exasperated, then held the hammer to him, + “strike while I keep the chain underneath,” he commanded. + </p> + <p> + Big Junko leaned forward to obey, kicking strongly his caulks into the + barked surface of the boom log. The spikes, worn blunt by the river work + already accomplished, failed to grip. Big Junko slipped, caught himself by + an effort, overbalanced in the other direction, and fell into the stream. + The current at once swept him away, but fortunately in such a direction + that he was enabled to catch the slanting end of a “dead head” log whose + lower end was jammed in the crib. The dead head was slippery, the current + strong; Big Junko had no crevice by which to assure his hold. In another + moment he would be torn away. + </p> + <p> + “Let go and swim!” shouted Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “I can't swim,” replied Junko in so low a voice as to be scarcely audible. + </p> + <p> + For a moment Thorpe stared at him. + </p> + <p> + “Tell Carrie,” said Big Junko. + </p> + <p> + Then there beneath the swirling gray sky, under the frowning jam, in the + midst of flood waters, Thorpe had his second great Moment of Decision. He + did not pause to weigh reasons or chances, to discuss with himself + expediency, or the moralities of failure. His actions were foreordained, + mechanical. All at once the great forces which the winter had been + bringing to power, crystallized into something bigger than himself or his + ideas. The trail lay before him; there was no choice. + </p> + <p> + Now clearly, with no shadow of doubt, he took the other view: There could + be nothing better than Love. Men, their works, their deeds were little + things. Success was a little thing; the opinion of men a little thing. + Instantly he felt the truth of it. + </p> + <p> + And here was Love in danger. That it held its moment's habitation in clay + of the coarser mould had nothing to do with the great elemental truth of + it. For the first time in his life Thorpe felt the full crushing power of + an abstraction. Without thought, instinctively, he threw before the + necessity of the moment all that was lesser. It was the triumph of what + was real in the man over that which environment, alienation, difficulties + had raised up within him. + </p> + <p> + At Big Junko's words, Thorpe raised his hammer and with one mighty blow + severed the chains which bound the ends of the booms across the opening. + The free end of one of the poles immediately swung down with the current + in the direction of Big Junko. Thorpe like a cat ran to the end of the + boom, seized the giant by the collar, and dragged him through the water to + safety. + </p> + <p> + “Run!” he shouted. “Run for your life!” + </p> + <p> + The two started desperately back, skirting the edge of the logs which now + the very seconds alone seemed to hold back. They were drenched and blinded + with spray, deafened with the crash of timbers settling to the leap. The + men on shore could no longer see them for the smother. The great crush of + logs had actually begun its first majestic sliding motion when at last + they emerged to safety. + </p> + <p> + At first a few of the loose timbers found the opening, slipping quietly + through with the current; then more; finally the front of the jam dove + forward; and an instant later the smooth, swift motion had gained its + impetus and was sweeping the entire drive down through the gap. + </p> + <p> + Rank after rank, like soldiers charging, they ran. The great fierce wind + caught them up ahead of the current. In a moment the open river was full + of logs jostling eagerly onward. Then suddenly, far out above the uneven + tossing skyline of Superior, the strange northern “loom,” or mirage, threw + the specters of thousands of restless timbers rising and falling on the + bosom of the lake. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0056" id="link2HCH0056"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter LVI + </h2> + <p> + They stood and watched them go. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, the great man! Oh, the great man!” murmured the writer, fascinated. + </p> + <p> + The grandeur of the sacrifice had struck them dumb. They did not + understand the motives beneath it all; but the fact was patent. Big Junko + broke down and sobbed. + </p> + <p> + After a time the stream of logs through the gap slackened. In a moment + more, save for the inevitably stranded few, the booms were empty. A deep + sigh went up from the attentive multitude. + </p> + <p> + “She's GONE!” said one man, with the emphasis of a novel discovery; and + groaned. + </p> + <p> + Then the awe broke from about their minds, and they spoke many opinions + and speculations. Thorpe had disappeared. They respected his emotion and + did not follow him. + </p> + <p> + “It was just plain damn foolishness;—but it was great!” said + Shearer. “That no-account jackass of a Big Junko ain't worth as much per + thousand feet as good white pine.” + </p> + <p> + Then they noticed a group of men gathering about the office steps, and on + it someone talking. Collins, the bookkeeper, was making a speech. + </p> + <p> + Collins was a little hatchet-faced man, with straight, lank hair, + nearsighted eyes, a timid, order-loving disposition, and a great + suitability for his profession. He was accurate, unemotional, and + valuable. All his actions were as dry as the saw-dust in the burner. No + one had ever seen him excited. But he was human; and now his knowledge of + the Company's affairs showed him the dramatic contrast. HE KNEW! He knew + that the property of the firm had been mortgaged to the last dollar in + order to assist expansion, so that not another cent could be borrowed to + tide over present difficulty. He knew that the notes for sixty thousand + dollars covering the loan to Wallace Carpenter came due in three months; + he knew from the long table of statistics which he was eternally preparing + and comparing that the season's cut should have netted a profit of two + hundred thousand dollars—enough to pay the interest on the + mortgages, to take up the notes, and to furnish a working capital for the + ensuing year. These things he knew in the strange concrete arithmetical + manner of the routine bookkeeper. Other men saw a desperate phase of firm + rivalry; he saw a struggle to the uttermost. Other men cheered a rescue: + he thrilled over the magnificent gesture of the Gambler scattering his + stake in largesse to Death. + </p> + <p> + It was the simple turning of the hand from full breathed prosperity to + lifeless failure. + </p> + <p> + His view was the inverse of his master's. To Thorpe it had suddenly become + a very little thing in contrast to the great, sweet elemental truth that + the dream girl had enunciated. To Collins the affair was miles vaster than + the widest scope of his own narrow life. + </p> + <p> + The firm could not take up its notes when they came due; it could not pay + the interest on the mortgages, which would now be foreclosed; it could not + even pay in full the men who had worked for it—that would come under + a court's adjudication. + </p> + <p> + He had therefore watched Thorpe's desperate sally to mend the weakened + chain, in all the suspense of a man whose entire universe is in the + keeping of the chance moment. It must be remembered that at bottom, below + the outer consciousness, Thorpe's final decision had already grown to + maturity. On the other hand, no other thought than that of accomplishment + had even entered the little bookkeeper's head. The rescue and all that it + had meant had hit him like a stroke of apoplexy, and his thin emotions had + curdled to hysteria. Full of the idea he appeared before the men. + </p> + <p> + With rapid, almost incoherent speech he poured it out to them. + Professional caution and secrecy were forgotten. Wallace Carpenter + attempted to push through the ring for the purpose of stopping him. A + gigantic riverman kindly but firmly held him back. + </p> + <p> + “I guess it's just as well we hears this,” said the latter. + </p> + <p> + It all came out—the loan to Carpenter, with a hint at the motive: + the machinations of the rival firm on the Board of Trade; the notes, the + mortgages, the necessity of a big season's cut; the reasons the rival firm + had for wishing to prevent that cut from arriving at the market; the + desperate and varied means they had employed. The men listened silent. + Hamilton, his eyes glowing like coals, drank in every word. Here was the + master motive he had sought; here was the story great to his hand! + </p> + <p> + “That's what we ought to get,” cried Collins, almost weeping, “and now + we've gone and bust, just because that infernal river-hog had to fall off + a boom. By God, it's a shame! Those scalawags have done us after all!” + </p> + <p> + Out from the shadows of the woods stole Injin Charley. The whole bearing + and aspect of the man had changed. His eye gleamed with a distant + farseeing fire of its own, which took no account of anything but some + remote vision. He stole along almost furtively, but with a proud upright + carriage of his neck, a backward tilt of his fine head, a distention of + his nostrils that lent to his appearance a panther-like pride and + stealthiness. No one saw him. Suddenly he broke through the group and + mounted the steps beside Collins. + </p> + <p> + “The enemy of my brother is gone,” said he simply in his native tongue, + and with a sudden gesture held out before them—a scalp. + </p> + <p> + The medieval barbarity of the thing appalled them for a moment. The days + of scalping were long since past, had been closed away between the pages + of forgotten histories, and yet here again before them was the thing in + all its living horror. Then a growl arose. The human animal had tasted + blood. + </p> + <p> + All at once like wine their wrongs mounted to their heads. They remembered + their dead comrades. They remembered the heart-breaking days and nights of + toil they had endured on account of this man and his associates. They + remembered the words of Collins, the little bookkeeper. They hated. They + shook their fists across the skies. They turned and with one accord struck + back for the railroad right-of-way which led to Shingleville, the town + controlled by Morrison & Daly. + </p> + <p> + The railroad lay for a mile straight through a thick tamarack swamp, then + over a nearly treeless cranberry plain. The tamarack was a screen between + the two towns. When half-way through the swamp, Red Jacket stopped, + removed his coat, ripped the lining from it, and began to fashion a rude + mask. + </p> + <p> + “Just as well they don't recognize us,” said he. + </p> + <p> + “Somebody in town will give us away,” suggested Shorty, the chore-boy. + </p> + <p> + “No, they won't; they're all here,” assured Kerlie. + </p> + <p> + It was true. Except for the women and children, who were not yet about, + the entire village had assembled. Even old Vanderhoof, the fire-watcher of + the yard, hobbled along breathlessly on his rheumatic legs. In a moment + the masks were fitted. In a moment more the little band had emerged from + the shelter of the swamp, and so came into full view of its objective + point. + </p> + <p> + Shingleville consisted of a big mill; the yards, now nearly empty of + lumber; the large frame boarding-house; the office; the stable; a store; + two saloons; and a dozen dwellings. The party at once fixed its eyes on + this collection of buildings, and trudged on down the right-of-way with + unhastening grimness. + </p> + <p> + Their approach was not unobserved. Daly saw them; and Baker, his foreman, + saw them. The two at once went forth to organize opposition. When the + attacking party reached the mill-yard, it found the boss and the foreman + standing alone on the saw-dust, revolvers drawn. + </p> + <p> + Daly traced a line with his toe. + </p> + <p> + “The first man that crosses that line gets it,” said he. + </p> + <p> + They knew he meant what he said. An instant's pause ensued, while the big + man and the little faced a mob. Daly's rivermen were still on drive. He + knew the mill men too well to depend on them. Truth to tell, the + possibility of such a raid as this had not occurred to him; for the simple + reason that he did not anticipate the discovery of his complicity with the + forces of nature. Skillfully carried out, the plan was a good one. No one + need know of the weakened link, and it was the most natural thing in the + world that Sadler & Smith's drive should go out with the increase of + water. + </p> + <p> + The men grouped swiftly and silently on the other side of the sawdust + line. The pause did not mean that Daly's defense was good. I have known of + a crew of striking mill men being so bluffed down, but not such men as + these. + </p> + <p> + “Do you know what's going to happen to you?” said a voice from the group. + The speaker was Radway, but the contractor kept himself well in the + background. “We're going to burn your mill; we're going to burn your + yards; we're going to burn your whole shooting match, you low-lived + whelp!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, and we're going to string you to your own trestle!” growled another + voice harshly. + </p> + <p> + “Dyer!” said Injin Charley, simply, shaking the wet scalp arm's length + towards the lumbermen. + </p> + <p> + At this grim interruption a silence fell. The owner paled slightly; his + foreman chewed a nonchalant straw. Down the still and deserted street + crossed and recrossed the subtle occult influences of a half-hundred + concealed watchers. Daly and his subordinate were very much alone, and + very much in danger. Their last hour had come; and they knew it. + </p> + <p> + With the recognition of the fact, they immediately raised their weapons in + the resolve to do as much damage as possible before being overpowered. + </p> + <p> + Then suddenly, full in the back, a heavy stream of water knocked them + completely off their feet, rolled them over and over on the wet sawdust, + and finally jammed them both against the trestle, where it held them, + kicking and gasping for breath, in a choking cataract of water. The + pistols flew harmlessly into the air. For an instant the Fighting Forty + stared in paralyzed astonishment. Then a tremendous roar of laughter + saluted this easy vanquishment of a formidable enemy. + </p> + <p> + Daly and Baker were pounced upon and captured. There was no resistance. + They were too nearly strangled for that. Little Solly and old Vanderhoof + turned off the water in the fire hydrant and disconnected the hose they + had so effectively employed. + </p> + <p> + “There, damn you!” said Rollway Charley, jerking the millman to his feet. + “How do YOU like too much water? hey?” + </p> + <p> + The unexpected comedy changed the party's mood. + </p> + <p> + It was no longer a question of killing. A number broke into the store, and + shortly emerged, bearing pails of kerosene with which they deluged the + slabs on the windward side of the mill. The flames caught the structure + instantly. A thousand sparks, borne by the off-shore breeze, fastened like + so many stinging insects on the lumber in the yard. + </p> + <p> + It burned as dried balsam thrown on a camp fire. The heat of it drove the + onlookers far back in the village, where in silence they watched the + destruction. From behind locked doors the inhabitants watched with them. + </p> + <p> + The billow of white smoke filled the northern sky. A whirl of gray wood + ashes, light as air, floated on and ever on over Superior. The site of the + mill, the squares where the piles of lumber had stood, glowed + incandescence over which already a white film was forming. + </p> + <p> + Daly and his man were slapped and cuffed hither and thither at the men's + will. Their faces bled, their bodies ached as one bruise. + </p> + <p> + “That squares us,” said the men. “If we can't cut this year, neither kin + you. It's up to you now!” + </p> + <p> + Then, like a destroying horde of locusts, they gutted the office and the + store, smashing what they could not carry to the fire. The dwellings and + saloons they did not disturb. Finally, about noon, they kicked their two + prisoners into the river, and took their way stragglingly back along the + right-of-way. + </p> + <p> + “I surmise we took that town apart SOME!” remarked Shorty with + satisfaction. + </p> + <p> + “I should rise to remark,” replied Kerlie. Big Junko said nothing, but his + cavernous little animal eyes glowed with satisfaction. He had been the + first to lay hands on Daly; he had helped to carry the petroleum; he had + struck the first match; he had even administered the final kick. + </p> + <p> + At the boarding-house they found Wallace Carpenter and Hamilton seated on + the veranda. It was now afternoon. The wind had abated somewhat, and the + sun was struggling with the still flying scuds. + </p> + <p> + “Hello, boys,” said Wallace, “been for a little walk in the woods?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir,” replied Jack Hyland, “we—” + </p> + <p> + “I'd rather not hear,” interrupted Wallace. “There's quite a fire over + east. I suppose you haven't noticed it.” + </p> + <p> + Hyland looked gravely eastward. + </p> + <p> + “Sure 'nough!” said he. + </p> + <p> + “Better get some grub,” suggested Wallace. + </p> + <p> + After the men had gone in, he turned to the journalist. + </p> + <p> + “Hamilton,” he began, “write all you know about the drive, and the break, + and the rescue, but as to the burning of the mill—” + </p> + <p> + The other held out his hand. + </p> + <p> + “Good,” said Wallace offering his own. + </p> + <p> + And that was as far as the famous Shingleville raid ever got. Daly did his + best to collect even circumstantial evidence against the participants, but + in vain. He could not even get anyone to say that a single member of the + village of Carpenter had absented himself from town that morning. This + might have been from loyalty, or it might have been from fear of the + vengeance the Fighting Forty would surely visit on a traitor. Probably it + was a combination of both. The fact remains, however, that Daly never knew + surely of but one man implicated in the destruction of his plant. That man + was Injin Charley, but Injin Charley promptly disappeared. + </p> + <p> + After an interval, Tim Shearer, Radway and Kerlie came out again. + </p> + <p> + “Where's the boss?” asked Shearer. + </p> + <p> + “I don't know, Tim,” replied Wallace seriously. + </p> + <p> + “I've looked everywhere. He's gone. He must have been all cut up. I think + he went out in the woods to get over it. I am not worrying. Harry has lots + of sense. He'll come in about dark.” + </p> + <p> + “Sure!” said Tim. + </p> + <p> + “How about the boy's stakes?” queried Radway. “I hear this is a bad smash + for the firm.” + </p> + <p> + “We'll see that the men get their wages all right,” replied Carpenter, a + little disappointed that such a question should be asked at such a time. + </p> + <p> + “All right,” rejoined the contractor. “We're all going to need our money + this summer.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0057" id="link2HCH0057"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter LVII + </h2> + <p> + Thorpe walked through the silent group of men without seeing them. He had + no thought for what he had done, but for the triumphant discovery he had + made in spite of himself. This he saw at once as something to glory in and + as a duty to be fulfilled. + </p> + <p> + It was then about six o'clock in the morning. Thorpe passed the + boarding-house, the store, and the office, to take himself as far as the + little open shed that served the primitive town as a railway station. + There he set the semaphore to flag the east-bound train from Duluth. At + six thirty-two, the train happening on time, he climbed aboard. He dropped + heavily into a seat and stared straight in front of him until the + conductor had spoken to him twice. + </p> + <p> + “Where to, Mr. Thorpe?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + The latter gazed at him uncomprehendingly. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! Mackinaw City,” he replied at last. + </p> + <p> + “How're things going up your way?” inquired the conductor by way of + conversation while he made out the pay-slip. + </p> + <p> + “Good!” responded Thorpe mechanically. + </p> + <p> + The act of paying for his fare brought to his consciousness that he had + but a little over ten dollars with him. He thrust the change back into his + pocket, and took up his contemplation of nothing. The river water dripped + slowly from his “cork” boots to form a pool on the car floor. The heavy + wool of his short driving trousers steamed in the car's warmth. His + shoulders dried in a little cloud of vapor. He noticed none of these + things, but stared ahead, his gaze vacant, the bronze of his face set in + the lines of a brown study, his strong capable hands hanging purposeless + between his knees. The ride to Mackinaw City was six hours long, and the + train in addition lost some ninety minutes; but in all this distance + Thorpe never altered his pose nor his fixed attitude of attention to some + inner voice. + </p> + <p> + The car-ferry finally landed them on the southern peninsula. Thorpe + descended at Mackinaw City to find that the noon train had gone. He ate + lunch at the hotel,—borrowed a hundred dollars from the agent of + Louis Sands, a lumberman of his acquaintance; and seated himself rigidly + in the little waiting room, there to remain until the nine-twenty that + night. When the cars were backed down from the siding, he boarded the + sleeper. In the doorway stood a disapproving colored porter. + </p> + <p> + “Yo'll fin' the smokin' cab up fo'wu'd, suh,” said the latter, firmly + barring the way. + </p> + <p> + “It's generally forward,” answered Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “This yeah's th' sleepah,” protested the functionary. “You pays extry.” + </p> + <p> + “I am aware of it,” replied Thorpe curtly. “Give me a lower.” + </p> + <p> + “Yessah!” acquiesced the darkey, giving way, but still in doubt. He + followed Thorpe curiously, peering into the smoking room on him from time + to time. A little after twelve his patience gave out. The stolid gloomy + man of lower six seemed to intend sitting up all night. + </p> + <p> + “Yo' berth is ready, sah,” he delicately suggested. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe arose obediently, walked to lower six, and, without undressing, + threw himself on the bed. Afterwards the porter, in conscientious + discharge of his duty, looked diligently beneath the seat for boots to + polish. Happening to glance up, after fruitless search he discovered the + boots still adorning the feet of their owner. + </p> + <p> + “Well, for th' LANDS sake!” ejaculated the scandalized negro, beating a + hasty retreat. + </p> + <p> + He was still more scandalized when, the following noon, his strange fare + brushed by him without bestowing the expected tip. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe descended at Twelfth Street in Chicago without any very clear + notion of where he was going. For a moment he faced the long park-like + expanse of the lake front, then turned sharp to his left and picked his + way south up the interminable reaches of Michigan Avenue. He did this + without any conscious motive—mainly because the reaches seemed + interminable, and he proved the need of walking. Block after block he + clicked along, the caulks of his boots striking fire from the pavement. + Some people stared at him a little curiously. Others merely glanced in his + direction, attracted more by the expression of his face than the + peculiarity of his dress. At that time rivermen were not an uncommon sight + along the water front. + </p> + <p> + After an interval he seemed to have left the smoke and dirt behind. The + street became quieter. Boarding-houses and tailors' shops ceased. Here and + there appeared a bit of lawn, shrubbery, flowers. The residences + established an uptown crescendo of magnificence. Policemen seemed trimmer, + better-gloved. Occasionally he might have noticed in front of one of the + sandstone piles, a besilvered pair champing before a stylish vehicle. By + and by he came to himself to find that he was staring at the deep-carved + lettering in a stone horse-block before a large dwelling. + </p> + <p> + His mind took the letters in one after the other, perceiving them plainly + before it accorded them recognition. Finally he had completed the word + “Farrad.” He whirled sharp on his heel, mounted the broad white stone + steps, and rang the bell. + </p> + <p> + It was answered almost immediately by a cleanshaven, portly and dignified + man with the most impassive countenance in the world. This man looked upon + Thorpe with lofty disapproval. + </p> + <p> + “Is Miss Hilda Farrand at home?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “I cannot say,” replied the man. “If you will step to the back door, I + will ascertain.” + </p> + <p> + “The flowers will do. Now see that the south room is ready, Annie,” + floated a voice from within. + </p> + <p> + Without a word, but with a deadly earnestness, Thorpe reached forward, + seized the astonished servant by the collar, yanked him bodily outside the + door, stepped inside, and strode across the hall toward a closed portiere + whence had come the voice. The riverman's long spikes cut little + triangular pieces from the hardwood floor. Thorpe did not notice that. He + thrust aside the portiere. + </p> + <p> + Before him he saw a young and beautiful girl. She was seated, and her lap + was filled with flowers. At his sudden apparition, her hands flew to her + heart, and her lips slightly parted. For a second the two stood looking at + each other, just as nearly a year before their eyes had crossed over the + old pole trail. + </p> + <p> + To Thorpe the girl seemed more beautiful than ever. She exceeded even his + retrospective dreams of her, for the dream had persistently retained + something of the quality of idealism which made the vision unreal, while + the woman before him had become human flesh and blood, adorable, to be + desired. The red of this violent unexpected encounter rushed to her face, + her bosom rose and fell in a fluttering catch for breath; but her eyes + were steady and inquiring. + </p> + <p> + Then the butter pounced on Thorpe from behind with the intent to do great + bodily harm. + </p> + <p> + “Morris!” commanded Hilda sharply, “what are you doing?” + </p> + <p> + The man cut short his heroism in confusion. + </p> + <p> + “You may go,” concluded Hilda. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe stood straight and unwinking by the straight portiere. After a + moment he spoke. + </p> + <p> + “I have come to tell you that you were right and I was wrong,” said he + steadily. “You told me there could be nothing better than love. In the + pride of my strength I told you this was not so. I was wrong.” + </p> + <p> + He stood for another instant, looking directly at her, then turned + sharply, and head erect walked from the room. + </p> + <p> + Before he had reached the outer door the girl was at his side. + </p> + <p> + “Why are you going?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + “I have nothing more to say.” + </p> + <p> + “NOTHING?” + </p> + <p> + “Nothing at all.” + </p> + <p> + She laughed happily to herself. + </p> + <p> + “But I have—much. Come back.” + </p> + <p> + They returned to the little morning room, Thorpe's caulked boots gouging + out the little triangular furrows in the hardwood floor. Neither noticed + that. Morris, the butler, emerged from his hiding and held up the hands of + horror. + </p> + <p> + “What are you going to do now?” she catechised, facing him in the middle + of the room. A long tendril of her beautiful corn-silk hair fell across + her eyes; her red lips parted in a faint wistful smile; beneath the + draperies of her loose gown the pure slender lines of her figure leaned + toward him. + </p> + <p> + “I am going back,” he replied patiently. + </p> + <p> + “I knew you would come,” said she. “I have been expecting you.” + </p> + <p> + She raised one hand to brush back the tendril of hair, but it was a + mechanical gesture, one that did not stir even the surface consciousness + of the strange half-smiling, half-wistful, starry gaze with which she + watched his face. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Harry,” she breathed, with a sudden flash of insight, “you are a man + born to be much misunderstood.” + </p> + <p> + He held himself rigid, but in his veins was creeping a molten fire, and + the fire was beginning to glow dully in his eye. Her whole being called + him. His heart leaped, his breath came fast, his eyes swam. With almost + hypnotic fascination the idea obsessed him—to kiss her lips, to + press the soft body of the young girl, to tumble her hair down about her + flower face. He had not come for this. He tried to steady himself, and by + an effort that left him weak he succeeded. Then a new flood of passion + overcame him. In the later desire was nothing of the old humble adoration. + It was elemental, real, almost a little savage. He wanted to seize her so + fiercely as to hurt her. Something caught his throat, filled his lungs, + weakened his knees. For a moment it seemed to him that he was going to + faint. + </p> + <p> + And still she stood there before him, saying nothing, leaning slightly + towards him, her red lips half parted, her eyes fixed almost wistfully on + his face. + </p> + <p> + “Go away!” he whispered hoarsely at last. The voice was not his own. “Go + away! Go away!” + </p> + <p> + Suddenly she swayed to him. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Harry, Harry,” she whispered, “must I TELL you? Don't you SEE?” + </p> + <p> + The flood broke through him. He seized her hungrily. He crushed her to him + until she gasped; he pressed his lips against hers until she all but cried + out with the pain of it, he ran his great brown hands blindly through her + hair until it came down about them both in a cloud of spun light. + </p> + <p> + “Tell me!” he whispered. “Tell me!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! Oh!” she cried. “Please! What is it?” + </p> + <p> + “I do not believe it,” he murmured savagely. + </p> + <p> + She drew herself from him with gentle dignity. + </p> + <p> + “I am not worthy to say it,” she said soberly, “but I love you with all my + heart and soul!” + </p> + <p> + Then for the first and only time in his life Thorpe fell to weeping, while + she, understanding, stood by and comforted him. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0058" id="link2HCH0058"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter LVIII + </h2> + <p> + The few moments of Thorpe's tears eased the emotional strain under which, + perhaps unconsciously, he had been laboring for nearly a year past. The + tenseness of his nerves relaxed. He was able to look on the things about + him from a broader standpoint than that of the specialist, to front life + with saving humor. The deep breath after striving could at last be taken. + </p> + <p> + In this new attitude there was nothing strenuous, nothing demanding haste; + only a deep glow of content and happiness. He savored deliberately the joy + of a luxurious couch, rich hangings, polished floor, subdued light, warmed + atmosphere. He watched with soul-deep gratitude the soft girlish curves of + Hilda's body, the poise of her flower head, the piquant, half-wistful, + half-childish set of her red lips, the clear starlike glimmer of her dusky + eyes. It was all near to him; his. + </p> + <p> + “Kiss me, dear,” he said. + </p> + <p> + She swayed to him again, deliciously graceful, deliciously + unselfconscious, trusting, adorable. Already in the little nothingnesses + of manner, the trifles of mental and bodily attitude, she had assumed that + faint trace of the maternal which to the observant tells so plainly that a + woman has given herself to a man. + </p> + <p> + She leaned her cheek against her hand, and her hand against his shoulder. + </p> + <p> + “I have been reading a story lately,” said she, “that has interested me + very much. It was about a man who renounced all he held most dear to + shield a friend.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “Then he renounced all his most valuable possessions because a poor common + man needed the sacrifice.” + </p> + <p> + “Sounds like a medieval story,” said he with unconscious humor. + </p> + <p> + “It happened recently,” rejoined Hilda. “I read it in the papers.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, he blazed a good trail,” was Thorpe's sighing comment. “Probably he + had his chance. We don't all of us get that. Things go crooked and get + tangled up, so we have to do the best we can. I don't believe I'd have + done it.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, you are delicious!” she cried. + </p> + <p> + After a time she said very humbly: “I want to beg your pardon for + misunderstanding you and causing you so much suffering. I was very stupid, + and didn't see why you could not do as I wanted you to.” + </p> + <p> + “That is nothing to forgive. I acted like a fool.” + </p> + <p> + “I have known about you,” she went on. “It has all come out in the + Telegram. It has been very exciting. Poor boy, you look tired.” + </p> + <p> + He straightened himself suddenly. “I have forgotten,—actually + forgotten,” he cried a little bitterly. “Why, I am a pauper, a bankrupt, I—” + </p> + <p> + “Harry,” she interrupted gently, but very firmly, “you must not say what + you were going to say. I cannot allow it. Money came between us before. It + must not do so again. Am I not right, dear?” + </p> + <p> + She smiled at him with the lips of a child and the eyes of a woman. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” he agreed after a struggle, “you are right. But now I must begin + all over again. It will be a long time before I shall be able to claim + you. I have my way to make.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said she diplomatically. + </p> + <p> + “But you!” he cried suddenly. “The papers remind me. How about that + Morton?” + </p> + <p> + “What about him?” asked the girl, astonished. “He is very happily + engaged.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe's face slowly filled with blood. + </p> + <p> + “You'll break the engagement at once,” he commanded a little harshly. + </p> + <p> + “Why should I break the engagement?” demanded Hilda, eying him with some + alarm. + </p> + <p> + “I should think it was obvious enough.” + </p> + <p> + “But it isn't,” she insisted. “Why?” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe was silent—as he always had been in emergencies, and as he + was destined always to be. His was not a nature of expression, but of + action. A crisis always brought him, like a bull-dog, silently to the + grip. + </p> + <p> + Hilda watched him puzzled, with bright eyes, like a squirrel. Her quick + brain glanced here and there among the possibilities, seeking the + explanation. Already she knew better than to demand it of him. + </p> + <p> + “You actually don't think he's engaged to ME!” she burst out finally. + </p> + <p> + “Isn't he?” asked Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “Why no, stupid! He's engaged to Elizabeth Carpenter, Wallace's sister. + Now WHERE did you get that silly idea?” + </p> + <p> + “I saw it in the paper.” + </p> + <p> + “And you believe all you see! Why didn't you ask Wallace—but of + course you wouldn't! Harry, you are the most incoherent dumb old brute I + ever saw! I could shake you! Why don't you say something occasionally when + it's needed, instead of sitting dumb as a sphinx and getting into all + sorts of trouble? But you never will. I know you. You dear old bear! You + NEED a wife to interpret things for you. You speak a different language + from most people.” She said this between laughing and crying; between a + sense of the ridiculous uselessness of withholding a single timely word, + and a tender pathetic intuition of the suffering such a nature must + endure. In the prospect of the future she saw her use. It gladdened her + and filled her with a serene happiness possible only to those who feel + themselves a necessary and integral part in the lives of the ones they + love. Dimly she perceived this truth. Dimly beyond it she glimpsed that + other great truth of nature, that the human being is rarely completely + efficient alone, that in obedience to his greater use he must take to + himself a mate before he can succeed. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly she jumped to her feet with an exclamation. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Harry! I'd forgotten utterly!” she cried in laughing consternation. + “I have a luncheon here at half-past one! It's almost that now. I must run + and dress. Just look at me; just LOOK! YOU did that!” + </p> + <p> + “I'll wait here until the confounded thing is over,” said Thorpe. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no, you won't,” replied Hilda decidedly. “You are going down town + right now and get something to put on. Then you are coming back here to + stay.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe glanced in surprise at his driver's clothes, and his spiked boots. + </p> + <p> + “Heavens and earth!” he exclaimed, “I should think so! How am I to get out + without ruining the floor?” + </p> + <p> + Hilda laughed and drew aside the portiere. + </p> + <p> + “Don't you think you have done that pretty well already?” she asked. + “There, don't look so solemn. We're not going to be sorry for a single + thing we've done today, are we?” She stood close to him holding the lapels + of his jacket in either hand, searching his face wistfully with her + fathomless dusky eyes. + </p> + <p> + “No, sweetheart, we are not,” replied Thorpe soberly. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0059" id="link2HCH0059"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter LIX + </h2> + <p> + Surely it is useless to follow the sequel in detail, to tell how Hilda + persuaded Thorpe to take her money. She aroused skillfully his fighting + blood, induced him to use one fortune to rescue another. To a woman such + as she this was not a very difficult task in the long run. A few scruples + of pride; that was all. + </p> + <p> + “Do not consider its being mine,” she answered to his objections. + “Remember the lesson we learned so bitterly. Nothing can be greater than + love, not even our poor ideals. You have my love; do not disappoint me by + refusing so little a thing as my money.” + </p> + <p> + “I hate to do it,” he replied; “it doesn't look right.” + </p> + <p> + “You must,” she insisted. “I will not take the position of rich wife to a + poor man; it is humiliating to both. I will not marry you until you have + made your success.” + </p> + <p> + “That is right,” said Thorpe heartily. + </p> + <p> + “Well, then, are you going to be so selfish as to keep me waiting while + you make an entirely new start, when a little help on my part will bring + your plans to completion?” + </p> + <p> + She saw the shadow of assent in his eyes. + </p> + <p> + “How much do you need?” she asked swiftly. + </p> + <p> + “I must take up the notes,” he explained. “I must pay the men. I may need + something on the stock market. If I go in on this thing, I'm going in for + keeps. I'll get after those fellows who have been swindling Wallace. Say a + hundred thousand dollars.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, it's nothing,” she cried. + </p> + <p> + “I'm glad you think so,” he replied grimly. + </p> + <p> + She ran to her dainty escritoire, where she scribbled eagerly for a few + moments. + </p> + <p> + “There,” she cried, her eyes shining, “there is my check book all signed + in blank. I'll see that the money is there.” + </p> + <p> + Thorpe took the book, staring at it with sightless eyes. Hilda, perched on + the arm of his chair, watched his face closely, as later became her habit + of interpretation. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe looked up with a pitiful little smile that seemed to beg indulgence + for what he was about to say. + </p> + <p> + “I was just thinking, dear. I used to imagine I was a strong man, yet see + how little my best efforts amount to. I have put myself into seven years + of the hardest labor, working like ten men in order to succeed. I have + foreseen all that mortal could foresee. I have always thought, and think + now, that a man is no man unless he works out the sort of success for + which he is fitted. I have done fairly well until the crises came. Then I + have been absolutely powerless, and if left to myself, I would have + failed. At the times when a really strong man would have used effectively + the strength he had been training, I have fallen back miserably on outer + aid. Three times my affairs have become critical. In the crises I have + been saved, first by a mere boy; then by an old illiterate man; now by a + weak woman!” + </p> + <p> + She heard him through in silence. + </p> + <p> + “Harry,” she said soberly when he had quite finished, “I agree with you + that God meant the strong man to succeed; that without success the man + hasn't fulfilled his reason for being. But, Harry, ARE YOU QUITE SURE GOD + MEANT HIM TO SUCCEED ALONE?” + </p> + <p> + The dusk fell through the little room. Out in the hallway a tall clock + ticked solemnly. A noiseless servant appeared in the doorway to light the + lamps, but was silently motioned away. + </p> + <p> + “I had not thought of that,” said Thorpe at last. + </p> + <p> + “You men are so selfish,” went on Hilda. “You would take everything from + us. Why can't you leave us the poor little privilege of the occasional + deciding touch, the privilege of succor. It is all that weakness can do + for strength.” + </p> + <p> + “And why,” she went on after a moment, “why is not that, too, a part of a + man's success—the gathering about him of people who can and will + supplement his efforts. Who was it inspired Wallace Carpenter with + confidence in an unknown man? You. What did it? Those very qualities by + which you were building your success. Why did John Radway join forces with + you? How does it happen that your men are of so high a standard of + efficiency? Why am I willing to give you everything, EVERYTHING, to my + heart and soul? Because it is you who ask it. Because you, Harry Thorpe, + have woven us into your fortune, so that we have no choice. Depend upon us + in the crises of your work! Why, so are you dependent on your ten fingers, + your eyes, the fiber of your brain! Do you think the less of your + fulfillment for that?” + </p> + <p> + So it was that Hilda Farrand gave her lover confidence, brought him out + from his fanaticism, launched him afresh into the current of events. He + remained in Chicago all that summer, giving orders that all work at the + village of Carpenter should cease. With his affairs that summer we have + little to do. His common-sense treatment of the stock market, by which a + policy of quiescence following an outright buying of the stock which he + had previously held on margins, retrieved the losses already sustained, + and finally put both partners on a firm financial footing. That is another + story. So too is his reconciliation with and understanding of his sister. + It came about through Hilda, of course. Perhaps in the inscrutable way of + Providence the estrangement was of benefit,—even necessary, for it + had thrown him entirely within himself during his militant years. + </p> + <p> + Let us rather look to the end of the summer. It now became a question of + re-opening the camps. Thorpe wrote to Shearer and Radway, whom he had + retained, that he would arrive on Saturday noon, and suggested that the + two begin to look about for men. Friday, himself, Wallace Carpenter, + Elizabeth Carpenter, Morton, Helen Thorpe, and Hilda Farrand boarded the + north-bound train. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0060" id="link2HCH0060"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Chapter LX + </h2> + <p> + The train of the South Shore Railroad shot its way across the broad + reaches of the northern peninsula. On either side of the right-of-way lay + mystery in the shape of thickets so dense and overgrown that the eye could + penetrate them but a few feet at most. Beyond them stood the forests. Thus + Nature screened her intimacies from the impertinent eye of a new order of + things. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe welcomed the smell of the northland. He became almost eager, + explaining, indicating to the girl at his side. + </p> + <p> + “There is the Canada balsam,” he cried. “Do you remember how I showed it + to you first? And yonder the spruce. How stuck up your teeth were when you + tried to chew the gum before it had been heated. Do you remember? Look! + Look there! It's a white pine! Isn't it a grand tree? It's the finest tree + in the forest, by my way of thinking, so tall, so straight, so feathery, + and so dignified. See, Hilda, look quick! There's an old logging road all + filled with raspberry vines. We'd find lots of partridges there, and + perhaps a bear. Wouldn't you just like to walk down it about sunset?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Harry.” + </p> + <p> + “I wonder what we're stopping for. Seems to me they are stopping at every + squirrel's trail. Oh, this must be Seney. Yes, it is. Queer little place, + isn't it? but sort of attractive. Good deal like our town. You have never + seen Carpenter, have you? Location's fine, anyway; and to me it's sort of + picturesque. You'll like Mrs. Hathaway. She's a buxom, motherly woman who + runs the boarding-house for eighty men, and still finds time to mend my + clothes for me. And you'll like Solly. Solly's the tug captain, a mighty + good fellow, true as a gun barrel. We'll have him take us out, some still + day. We'll be there in a few minutes now. See the cranberry marshes. + Sometimes there's a good deal of pine on little islands scattered over it, + but it's very hard to log, unless you get a good winter. We had just such + a proposition when I worked for Radway. Oh, you'll like Radway, he's as + good as gold. Helen!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” replied his sister. + </p> + <p> + “I want you to know Radway. He's the man who gave me my start.” + </p> + <p> + “All right, Harry,” laughed Helen. “I'll meet anybody or anything from + bears to Indians.” + </p> + <p> + “I know an Indian too—Geezigut, an Ojibwa—we called him Injin + Charley. He was my first friend in the north woods. He helped me get my + timber. This spring he killed a man—a good job, too—and is + hiding now. I wish I knew where he is. But we'll see him some day. He'll + come back when the thing blows over. See! See!” + </p> + <p> + “What?” they all asked, breathless. + </p> + <p> + “It's gone. Over beyond the hills there I caught a glimpse of Superior.” + </p> + <p> + “You are ridiculous, Harry,” protested Helen Thorpe laughingly. “I never + saw you so. You are a regular boy!” + </p> + <p> + “Do you like boys?” he asked gravely of Hilda. + </p> + <p> + “Adore them!” she cried. + </p> + <p> + “All right, I don't care,” he answered his sister in triumph. + </p> + <p> + The air brakes began to make themselves felt, and shortly the train came + to a grinding stop. + </p> + <p> + “What station is this?” Thorpe asked the colored porter. + </p> + <p> + “Shingleville, sah,” the latter replied. + </p> + <p> + “I thought so. Wallace, when did their mill burn, anyway? I haven't heard + about it.” + </p> + <p> + “Last spring, about the time you went down.” + </p> + <p> + “Is THAT so? How did it happen?” + </p> + <p> + “They claim incendiarism,” parried Wallace cautiously. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe pondered a moment, then laughed. “I am in the mixed attitude of the + small boy,” he observed, “who isn't mean enough to wish anybody's property + destroyed, but who wishes that if there is a fire, to be where he can see + it. I am sorry those fellows had to lose their mill, but it was a good + thing for us. The man who set that fire did us a good turn. If it hadn't + been for the burning of their mill, they would have made a stronger fight + against us in the stock market.” + </p> + <p> + Wallace and Hilda exchanged glances. The girl was long since aware of the + inside history of those days. + </p> + <p> + “You'll have to tell them that,” she whispered over the back of her seat. + “It will please them.” + </p> + <p> + “Our station is next!” cried Thorpe, “and it's only a little ways. Come, + get ready!” + </p> + <p> + They all crowded into the narrow passage-way near the door, for the train + barely paused. + </p> + <p> + “All right, sah,” said the porter, swinging down his little step. + </p> + <p> + Thorpe ran down to help the ladies. He was nearly taken from his feet by a + wild-cat yell, and a moment later that result was actually accomplished by + a rush of men that tossed him bodily onto its shoulders. At the same + moment, the mill and tug whistles began to screech, miscellaneous + fire-arms exploded. Even the locomotive engineer, in the spirit of the + occasion, leaned down heartily on his whistle rope. The saw-dust street + was filled with screaming, jostling men. The homes of the town were + brilliantly draped with cheesecloth, flags and bunting. + </p> + <p> + For a moment Thorpe could not make out what had happened. This turmoil was + so different from the dead quiet of desertion he had expected, that he was + unable to gather his faculties. All about him were familiar faces upturned + to his own. He distinguished the broad, square shoulders of Scotty + Parsons, Jack Hyland, Kerlie, Bryan Moloney; Ellis grinned at him from the + press; Billy Camp, the fat and shiny drive cook; Mason, the foreman of the + mill; over beyond howled Solly, the tug captain, Rollway Charley, Shorty, + the chore-boy; everywhere were features that he knew. As his dimming eyes + travelled here and there, one by one the Fighting Forty, the best crew of + men ever gathered in the northland, impressed themselves on his + consciousness. Saginaw birlers, Flat River drivers, woodsmen from the + forests of Lower Canada, bully boys out of the Muskegon waters, peavey men + from Au Sable, white-water dare-devils from the rapids of the Menominee—all + were there to do him honor, him in whom they had learned to see the + supreme qualities of their calling. On the outskirts sauntered the tall + form of Tim Shearer, a straw peeping from beneath his flax-white mustache, + his eyes glimmering under his flax-white eyebrows. He did not evidence as + much excitement as the others, but the very bearing of the man expressed + the deepest satisfaction. Perhaps he remembered that zero morning so many + years before when he had watched the thinly-clad, shivering chore-boy set + his face for the first time towards the dark forest. + </p> + <p> + Big Junko and Anderson deposited their burden on the raised platform of + the office steps. Thorpe turned and fronted the crowd. + </p> + <p> + At once pandemonium broke loose, as though the previous performance had + been nothing but a low-voiced rehearsal. + </p> + <p> + The men looked upon their leader and gave voice to the enthusiasm that was + in them. He stood alone there, straight and tall, the muscles of his brown + face set to hide his emotion, his head thrust back proudly, the lines of + his strong figure tense with power,—the glorification in finer + matter of the hardy, reliant men who did him honor. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, aren't you PROUD of him?” gasped Hilda, squeezing Helen's arm with a + little sob. + </p> + <p> + In a moment Wallace Carpenter, his countenance glowing with pride and + pleasure, mounted the platform and stood beside his friend, while Morton + and the two young ladies stopped half way up the steps. + </p> + <p> + At once the racket ceased. Everyone stood at attention. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Thorpe,” Wallace began, “at the request of your friends here, I have + a most pleasant duty to fulfill. They have asked me to tell you how glad + they are to see you; that is surely unnecessary. They have also asked me + to congratulate you on having won the fight with our rivals.” + </p> + <p> + “You done 'em good.” “Can't down the Old Fellow,” muttered joyous voices. + </p> + <p> + “But,” said Wallace, “I think that I first have a story to tell on my own + account. + </p> + <p> + “At the time the jam broke this spring, we owed the men here for a year's + work. At that time I considered their demand for wages ill-timed and + grasping. I wish to apologize. After the money was paid them, instead of + scattering, they set to work under Jack Radway and Tim Shearer to salvage + your logs. They have worked long hours all summer. They have invested + every cent of their year's earnings in supplies and tools, and now they + are prepared to show you in the Company's booms, three million feet of + logs, rescued by their grit and hard labor from total loss.” + </p> + <p> + At this point the speaker was interrupted. “Saw off,” “Shut up,” “Give us + a rest,” growled the audience. “Three million feet ain't worth talkin' + about,” “You make me tired,” “Say your little say the way you oughter,” + “Found purty nigh two millions pocketed on Mare's Island, or we wouldn't a + had that much,” “Damn-fool undertaking, anyhow.” + </p> + <p> + “Men,” cried Thorpe, “I have been very fortunate. From failure success has + come. But never have I been more fortunate than in my friends. The firm is + now on its feet. It could afford to lose three times the logs it lost this + year—” + </p> + <p> + He paused and scanned their faces. + </p> + <p> + “But,” he continued suddenly, “it cannot now, nor ever can afford to lose + what those three million feet represent,—the friends it has made. I + can pay you back the money you have spent and the time you have put in—” + Again he looked them over, and then for the first time since they have + known him his face lighted up with a rare and tender smile of affection. + “But, comrades, I shall not offer to do it: the gift is accepted in the + spirit with which it was offered—” + </p> + <p> + He got no further. The air was rent with sound. Even the members of his + own party cheered. From every direction the crowd surged inward. The women + and Morton were forced up the platform to Thorpe. The latter motioned for + silence. + </p> + <p> + “Now, boys, we have done it,” said he, “and so will go back to work. From + now on you are my comrades in the fight.” + </p> + <p> + His eyes were dim; his breast heaved; his voice shook. Hilda was weeping + from excitement. Through the tears she saw them all looking at their + leader, and in the worn, hard faces glowed the affection and admiration of + a dog for its master. Something there was especially touching in this, for + strong men rarely show it. She felt a great wave of excitement sweep over + her. Instantly she was standing by Thorpe, her eyes streaming, her breast + throbbing with emotion. + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” she cried, stretching her arms out to them passionately, “Oh! I love + you; I love you all!” + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Blazed Trail, by Stewart Edward White + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BLAZED TRAIL *** + +***** This file should be named 3413-h.htm or 3413-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/1/3413/ + +Produced by Douglas E. Levy, and David Widger + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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