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diff --git a/41712-8.txt b/41712-0.txt
index 2e28dfb..28e8824 100644
--- a/41712-8.txt
+++ b/41712-0.txt
@@ -1,37 +1,4 @@
-Project Gutenberg's Connie Morgan in the Lumber Camps, by James B. Hendryx
-
-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: Connie Morgan in the Lumber Camps
-
-Author: James B. Hendryx
-
-Release Date: December 27, 2012 [EBook #41712]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONNIE MORGAN IN THE LUMBER CAMPS ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by K Nordquist, David Edwards, Charlie Howard and
-the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
-http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned
-images of public domain material from the Google Print
-project.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41712 ***
 
   CONNIE MORGAN
   IN THE
@@ -6566,7 +6533,7 @@ James B. Hendryx
 
 Author of "The Promise," "The Law of the Woods," etc.
 
-_12°. Over twenty illustrations_
+_12°. Over twenty illustrations_
 
 
 Mr. Hendryx, as he has ably demonstrated in his many well-known tales,
@@ -6587,7 +6554,7 @@ Belmore Browne
 
 Author of "The Conquest of Mount McKinley"
 
-_12°. Eight full-page illustrations_
+_12°. Eight full-page illustrations_
 
 
 The story of a search for treasure which lies guarded by the fastnesses
@@ -6614,7 +6581,7 @@ Belmore Brown
 
 Author of "The Quest of the Golden Valley," etc.
 
-_12°. Illustrated_
+_12°. Illustrated_
 
 
 A sequel to _The Quest of the Golden Valley_, this time taking the chums
@@ -6648,362 +6615,4 @@ Illustrations have been moved closer to the relevant text.
 End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Connie Morgan in the Lumber Camps, by 
 James B. Hendryx
 
-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONNIE MORGAN IN THE LUMBER CAMPS ***
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+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41712 ***
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     <title>
       The Project Gutenberg eBook of Connie Morgan In the Lumber Camps, by James B. Hendryx.
@@ -222,47 +222,7 @@ blockquote {margin: 1em 15% 1em 15%;}
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 <body>
-
-
-<pre>
-
-Project Gutenberg's Connie Morgan in the Lumber Camps, by James B. Hendryx
-
-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
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-
-
-Title: Connie Morgan in the Lumber Camps
-
-Author: James B. Hendryx
-
-Release Date: December 27, 2012 [EBook #41712]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONNIE MORGAN IN THE LUMBER CAMPS ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by K Nordquist, David Edwards, Charlie Howard and
-the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
-http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned
-images of public domain material from the Google Print
-project.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-</pre>
-
-
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41712 ***</div>
 
 <h1 class="vspace">
 CONNIE MORGAN<br />
@@ -9362,384 +9322,6 @@ preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.</p>
 <p>Illustrations have been moved closer to the relevant text.</p>
 </div>
 
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Connie Morgan in the Lumber Camps, by 
-James B. Hendryx
-
-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONNIE MORGAN IN THE LUMBER CAMPS ***
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+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41712 ***</div>
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-Project Gutenberg's Connie Morgan in the Lumber Camps, by James B. Hendryx
-
-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: Connie Morgan in the Lumber Camps
-
-Author: James B. Hendryx
-
-Release Date: December 27, 2012 [EBook #41712]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ASCII
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONNIE MORGAN IN THE LUMBER CAMPS ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by K Nordquist, David Edwards, Charlie Howard and
-the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
-http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned
-images of public domain material from the Google Print
-project.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-  CONNIE MORGAN
-  IN THE
-  LUMBER CAMPS
-
-  BY
-
-  JAMES B. HENDRYX
-  AUTHOR OF "CONNIE MORGAN IN ALASKA," "CONNIE
-  MORGAN WITH THE MOUNTED"
-
-  [Illustration]
-
-  _ILLUSTRATED_
-
-  G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
-  NEW YORK AND LONDON
-  The Knickerbocker Press
-  1919
-
-
-  COPYRIGHT, 1919
-  BY
-  JAMES B. HENDRYX
-
-  The Knickerbocker Press, New York
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-CONTENTS
-
-
-    CHAPTER                                                PAGE
-
-        I.--CONNIE MORGAN GOES "OUTSIDE"                      1
-
-       II.--HURLEY                                           14
-
-      III.--INTO THE WOODS                                   28
-
-       IV.--CONNIE TAMES A BEAR-CAT                          45
-
-        V.--HURLEY LAYS OUT THE NEW CAMP                     58
-
-       VI.--THE I. W. W. SHOWS ITS HAND                      69
-
-      VII.--THE PRISONERS                                    89
-
-     VIII.--THE BOSS OF CAMP TWO                            103
-
-       IX.--SAGINAW ED IN THE TOILS                         114
-
-        X.--CONNIE DOES SOME TRAILING                       129
-
-       XI.--CONNIE FINDS AN ALLY                            145
-
-      XII.--SHADING THE CUT                                 162
-
-     XIII.--SAGINAW ED HUNTS A CLUE                         175
-
-      XIV.--A PAIR OF SOCKS                                 192
-
-       XV.--HURLEY PREPARES FOR THE DRIVE                   204
-
-      XVI.--SLUE FOOT "COMES ACROSS"                        217
-
-     XVII.--HEINIE METZGER                                  235
-
-    XVIII.--CONNIE SELLS SOME LOGS                          255
-
-      XIX.--THE UNMASKING OF SLUE FOOT MAGEE                277
-
-       XX.--CONNIE DELIVERS HIS LOGS                        292
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-ILLUSTRATIONS
-
-
-                                                           PAGE
-
-    Hurley                                                    8
-
-    Mike Gillum took Connie to the river where miles of
-        booms held millions of feet of logs                  23
-
-    "Come on, tell them what you told them a minute ago"     55
-
-    Swiftly the boy followed the tracks to the point
-        where the man had struck into the clearing          131
-
-    The boy hastened unnoticed to the edge of a crowd
-        of men that encircled Frenchy Lamar                 134
-
-    "What in the name of time be you doin' here?"
-        exclaimed Saginaw                                   150
-
-    "Phy don't yez tell me oi'm a big liar?" he roared      167
-
-    "Phwat d'yez want?" he whined                           178
-
-    "What's this?" asked the boy, pushing up a small
-        bundle                                              193
-
-    Slue Foot turned. "Think y're awful smart, don't
-        ye?"                                                232
-
-    He leaned back in his chair and stared at Connie
-        through his glasses, as one would examine a
-        specimen at the zoo                                 251
-
-    Very gingerly he donned the garments and for some
-        moments stood and viewed himself in the mirror      265
-
-    Hurley had remained at the Upper Camp, and as the
-        drive at last began to thin out, he came floating
-        down, standing erect upon a huge log                299
-
-    Connie placed his hand affectionately upon the arm
-        of the big boss who stood at his side grinning
-        broadly                                             309
-
-
-
-
-Connie Morgan in the Lumber Camps
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I
-
-CONNIE MORGAN GOES "OUTSIDE"
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-With an exclamation of impatience, Waseche Bill pushed a formidable
-looking volume from him and sat, pen in hand, scowling down at the sheet
-of writing paper upon the table before him. "I done give fo' dollahs fo'
-that dictionary down to Faihbanks an' it ain't wo'th fo' bits!"
-
-"What's the matter with it?" grinned Connie Morgan, glancing across the
-table into the face of his partner.
-
-"The main matteh with it is that it ain't no good. It's plumb full of a
-lot of wo'ds that no one wouldn't know what yo' was talkin' about if yo'
-said 'em, an' the common ones a man has got some use fo' is left out."
-
-"What word do you want? I learned to spell quite a lot of words in
-school."
-
-"Gillum."
-
-"What?"
-
-"Gillum--I want to write a letteh to Mike Gillum. They ain't no betteh
-man nowheahs than Mike. He's known all along the Tanana an' in the
-loggin' woods outside, an' heah's this book that sets up to show folks
-how to spell, an' it cain't even spell Mike Gillum."
-
-Connie laughed. "Gillum is a proper name," he explained, "and
-dictionaries don't print proper names."
-
-"They might a heap betteh leave out some of the impropeh an' redic'lous
-ones they've got into 'em, then, an' put in some of the propeh ones. I
-ain't pleased with that book, nohow. It ain't no good. It claims fo' to
-show how to spell wo'ds, an' when yo' come to use it yo' got to know
-how to spell the wo'd yo' huntin' fo' oah yo' cain't find it. The only
-wo'ds yo' c'n find when yo' want 'em is the ones yo' c'n spell anyhow,
-so what's the use of findin' 'em?"
-
-"But, there's the definitions. It tells you what the words mean."
-
-Waseche Bill snorted contemptuously. "What they mean!" he exclaimed.
-"Well, if yo' didn't know what they mean, yo' wouldn't be wantin' to use
-them, nohow, an' yo' wouldn't care a doggone how they was spelt, noah if
-they was spelt at all oah not. Fact is, I didn't give the matteh no
-thought when I bought it. If it had be'n a big deal I wouldn't have be'n
-took in, that way. In the hotel at Faihbanks, it was, when I was comin'
-in. The fellow I bought it off of seemed right pleased with the book.
-Why, he talked enough about it to of sold a claim. I got right tired
-listenin' to him, so I bought it. But, shucks, I might of know'd if the
-book had be'n any good he wouldn't have be'n so anxious to get red of
-it."
-
-"Where is this Mike Gillum?" Connie asked, as he folded a paper and
-returned it to a little pile of similar papers that lay before him on
-the table.
-
-"I don't jest recollec' now, but I got the place copied down in my
-notebook. It's some town back in Minnesota."
-
-"Minnesota!"
-
-"Yes. Fact is we be'n so blamed busy all summeh right heah in Ten Bow,
-I'd plumb forgot about ouh otheh interests, till the nippy weatheh done
-reminded me of 'em."
-
-"I didn't know we had any other interests," smiled the boy.
-
-"It's this way," began Waseche Bill, as he applied a match to his pipe
-and settled back in his chair. "When I was down to the hospital last
-fall they brought in a fellow fo' an operation an' put him in the room
-next to mine. The first day he stuck his nose out the do', I seen it was
-Mike Gillum--we'd prospected togetheh oveh on the Tanana, yeahs back,
-an' yo' bet yo' boots I was glad to see someone that had been up heah in
-the big country an' could talk sensible about it without askin' a lot of
-fool questions about what do the dawgs drink in winteh if everythin's
-froze up? An' ain't we afraid we'll freeze to death? An' how high is the
-mountains? An' did you know my mother's cousin that went up to Alaska
-after gold in '98? While he was gettin' well, we had some great old
-powwows, an' he told me how he done got sick of prospectin' an' went
-back to loggin'. He's a fo'man, now, fo' some big lumbeh syndicate in
-one of theih camps up in no'the'n Minnesota."
-
-"One day we was settin' a smokin' ouh pipes an' he says to me,
-'Waseche,' he says, 'you've got the dust to do it with, why don't you
-take a li'l flyeh in timbeh?' I allowed minin' was mo' in my line, an'
-he says, 'That's all right, but this heah timbeh business is a big
-proposition, too. Jest because a man's got one good thing a-goin', ain't
-no sign he'd ort to pass up anotheh. It's this way,' he says: 'Up to'ds
-the haid of Dogfish Riveh, they's a four-thousand-acre tract of timbeh
-that's surrounded on three sides by the Syndicate holdin's. Fo' yeahs
-the Syndicate's be'n tryin' to get holt of this tract, but the man that
-owns it would die befo' he'd let 'em put an axe to a stick of it. They
-done him dirt some way a long time ago an' he's neveh fo'got it. He
-ain't got the capital to log it, an' he won't sell to the Syndicate. But
-he needs the money, an' if some private pahty come along that would take
-it off his hands an' agree to neveh sell it to the Syndicate, he could
-drive a mighty good ba'gain. I know logs,' Mike says, 'an' I'm tellin'
-yo' there ain't a betteh strip of timbeh in the State.'
-
-"'Why ain't no one grabbed it befo'?' I asks.
-
-"'Because this heah McClusky that owns it is a mighty suspicious ol'
-man, an' he's tu'ned down about a hund'ed offehs because he know'd they
-was backed by the Syndicate.'
-
-"'Maybe he'd tu'n down mine, if I'd make him one,' I says.
-
-"Mike laughed. 'No,' he says, 'spite of the fact that I'm one of the
-Syndicate's fo'men, ol' man McClusky takes my wo'd fo' anything I tell
-him. Him an' my ol' dad come oveh f'om Ireland togetheh. I'd go a long
-ways around to do ol' Mac a good tu'n, an' he knows it. Fact is, it's me
-that put him wise that most of the offehs he's had come from the
-Syndicate--my contract with 'em callin' fo' handlin' loggin' crews, an'
-not helpin' 'em skin folks out of their timbeh. If I'd slip the we'd to
-Mac to sell to you, he'd sell.'"
-
-Waseche refilled his pipe, and Connie waited eagerly for his big partner
-to proceed. "Well," continued the man, "he showed me how it was an awful
-good proposition, so I agreed to take it oveh. I wanted Mike should come
-in on it, but he wouldn't--Mike's squah as a die, an' he said his
-contract has got three mo' yeahs to run, an' it binds him not to engage
-in no private business oah entehprise whateveh while it's in fo'ce.
-
-"Befo'e Mike left the hospital he sent fo' McClusky, an' we closed the
-deal. That was last fall, an' I told Mike that as long as the timbeh was
-theah, I might's well staht gettin' it out. He wa'ned me to keep my eye
-on the Syndicate when I stahted to layin' 'em down, but befo'e he'd got
-a chance to give me much advice on the matteh, theah come a telegram fo'
-him to get to wo'k an' line up his crew an' get into the woods. Befo'e
-he left, though, he said he'd send me down a man that might do fo' a
-fo'man. Said he couldn't vouch for him no mo'n that he was a tiptop
-logman, an' capable of handlin' a crew in the woods. So he come, Jake
-Hurley, his name is, an' he's a big red Irishman. I didn't jest like his
-looks, an' some of his talk, but I didn't know wheah to get anyone else
-so I took a chance on him an' hired him to put a crew into the woods an'
-get out a small lot of timbeh." Waseche Bill crossed the room and,
-unlocking a chest, tossed a packet of papers onto the table. "It's all
-in theah," he said grimly. "They got out quite a mess of logs, an' in
-the spring when they was drivin' 'em down the Dogfish Riveh, to get 'em
-into the Mississippi, they fouled a Syndicate drive. When things got
-straightened out, we was fo'teen thousan' dollahs to the bad."
-
-The little clock ticked for a long time while Connie carefully examined
-the sheaf of papers. After a while he looked up. "Why, if it hadn't been
-for losing our logs we would have cleaned up a good profit!" he
-exclaimed.
-
-[Illustration: HURLEY]
-
-Waseche Bill nodded. "Yes--if. But the fact is, we didn't clean up no
-profit, an' we got the tract on ouh hands with no one to sell it to,
-cause I passed ouh wo'd I wouldn't sell it--o' co'se McClusky couldn't
-hold us to that acco'din' to law, but I reckon, he won't have to. I got
-us into this heah mess unbeknownst to you, so I'll jest shouldeh the
-loss, private, an'----"
-
-"You'll _what!_" interrupted Connie, wrathfully. And then grinned
-good-humouredly as he detected the twinkle in Waseche Bill's eye.
-
-"I said, I c'n get a raise out of yo' any time I'm a mind to try, cain't
-I?"
-
-"You sure can," laughed the boy. "But just so you don't forget it, we
-settled this partnership business for good and all, a couple of years
-ago."
-
-Waseche nodded as he glanced affectionately into the face of the boy.
-"Yes, son, I reckon that's done settled," he answered, gravely. "But the
-question is, now we ah into this thing, how we goin' to get out?"
-
-"Fight out, of course!" exclaimed the boy, his eyes flashing. "The first
-thing for us to find out is, whether the fouling of that drive was
-accidental or was done purposely. And why we didn't get what was coming
-to us when the logs were sorted."
-
-"I reckon that's done settled, as fah as _knowin'_ it's conse'ned.
-Provin' it will be anotheh matteh." He produced a letter from his
-pocket. "This come up in the mail," he said. "It's from Mike Gillum.
-Mike, he writes a middlin' sho't letteh, but he says a heap. It was
-wrote from Riverville, Minnesota, on July the tenth."
-
-    "FRIEND WASECHE:
-
-    "Just found out Hurley is on pay roll of the Syndicate. Look
-    alive.
-
-            "MIKE."
-
-"Double crossed us," observed the boy, philosophically.
-
-"Yes, an' the wo'st of it is, he wouldn't sign up without a two-yeah
-contract. Said some yeahs a boss has bad luck an' he'd ort to be give a
-chance to make good."
-
-"I'm glad of it," said Connie. "I think he'll get his chance, all
-right."
-
-Waseche looked at his small partner quizzically. "What do yo' mean?" he
-asked.
-
-"Let's go to bed. It's late," observed the boy, evasively. "Maybe in the
-morning we'll have it doped out."
-
-At breakfast the following morning Connie looked at Waseche Bill, and
-Waseche looked at Connie. "I guess it's up to me," smiled the boy.
-
-"Yo' mean----?"
-
-"I mean that the only way to handle this case is to handle it from the
-bottom up. First we've got to get this Jake Hurley with the goods, and
-when we've got him out of the way, jump in and show the Syndicate that
-they've run up against an outfit it don't pay to monkey with. That
-timber is ours, and we're going to have it!"
-
-"That sums the case right pert as fa' as talkin' goes, but how we goin'
-to do it? If we go down theah an' kick Hurley out, we've got to pay him
-fo' a whole winteh's wo'k he ain't done an' I'd hate to do that. We
-don't neitheh one of us know enough about loggin' to run the camp, an'
-if we was to hunt up anotheh fo'man, chances is he'd be as bad as
-Hurley, mebbe wo'se."
-
-"There's no use in both of us going. You're needed here, and besides
-there wouldn't be much you could do if you were there. Hurley don't know
-me, and I can go down and get enough on him by spring to put him away
-where he can think things over for a while. I've just finished a year's
-experience in handling exactly such characters as he is."
-
-Waseche Bill grinned. "I met up with Dan McKeeveh comin' in," he said.
-"From what I was able to getheh, heahin' him talk, I reckon they cain't
-be many bad men left oveh on the Yukon side."
-
-"Dan was prejudiced," laughed Connie. "I did just what any one else
-would have done--what good men any place you put 'em have _got_ to do,
-or they wouldn't be good men. After I'd found out what had to be done, I
-figured out the most sensible way of doing it, and then did it the best
-I knew how. I haven't lived with men like you, and Dan, and MacDougall,
-and the rest of the boys, for nothing----"
-
-"Jest yo' stick to that way of doin', son, an', I reckon, yo'll find
-it's about all the Bible yo'll need. But, about this heah trip to the
-outside. I sho' do hate to have yo' go down theh, so fah away from
-anywhehs. S'posin' somethin' should happen to yo'. Why, I don't reckon I
-eveh would get oveh blamin' myself fo' lettin' yo' go."
-
-"Any one would think I was a girl," smiled the boy. "But I guess if I
-can take care of myself up here, I can handle anything I'll run up
-against outside."
-
-"What do yo' aim to do when yo' get theah?"
-
-"The first thing to do will be to hunt up Mike Gillum and have a talk
-with him. After that--well, after that, I'll know what to do."
-
-Waseche Bill regarded the boy thoughtfully as he passed his fingers
-slowly back and forth along his stub-bearded jaw. "I reckon yo' will,
-son," he said, "from what I know of yo', an' what Dan done tol' me,
-comin' in, I jest reckon yo' will."
-
-When Connie Morgan made up his mind to do a thing he went ahead and did
-it. Inside of a week the boy had packed his belongings, bid good-bye to
-Ten Bow, and started upon the journey that was to take him far from his
-beloved Alaska, and plunge him into a series of adventures that were to
-pit his wits against the machinations of a scheming corporation.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II
-
-HURLEY
-
-
-With a long-drawn whistle the great trans-continental train ground to a
-stop at a tiny town that consisted simply of a red painted depot, a huge
-water tank, and a dozen or more low frame houses, all set in a little
-clearing that was hardly more than a notch in one of the parallel walls
-of pine that flanked the railroad. The coloured porter glanced
-contemptuously out of the window and grumbled at the delay. The
-conductor, a dapper little man of blue cloth and brass buttons, bustled
-importantly down the aisle and disappeared through the front door.
-Connie raised his window and thrust his head out. Other heads protruded
-from the long line of coaches, and up in front men were swinging from
-the platforms to follow the trainmen who were hurrying along the sides
-of the cars. Connie arose and made his way forward. Two days and nights
-in the cramped quarters of the car had irked the boy, used as he was to
-the broad, open places, and it was with a distinct feeling of relief
-that he stepped to the ground and breathed deeply of the pine-scented
-air.
-
-Upon a siding stood several flat cars onto which a dozen or more roughly
-dressed men were busily loading gear and equipment under the eye of a
-massive-framed giant of a man in a shirt of brilliant red flannel, who
-sat dangling his legs from the brake wheel of the end car. A stubble of
-red beard covered the man's undershot jaw. The visor of a greasy plush
-cap, pushed well back upon his head, disclosed a shock of red hair that
-nearly met the shaggy eyebrows beneath which a pair of beady eyes kept
-tab on the movements of his crew. To the stalled train, and the people
-who passed close beside him, the man gave no heed.
-
-Up ahead, some eight or ten rods in front of the monster engine that
-snorted haughty impatience to be gone, Connie saw the cause of the
-delay. A heavy, underslung logging wagon was stalled directly upon the
-tracks, where it remained fixed despite the efforts of the four big
-horses that were doing their utmost to move it in response to a loud
-string of abusive epithets and the stinging blows of a heavy whip which
-the driver wielded with the strength of a husky arm. A little knot of
-men collected about the wagon, and the driver, abandoning his vain
-attempt to start the load, addressed the crowd in much the same language
-he had used toward the horses. The train conductor detached himself from
-the group and hurried toward the flat cars.
-
-"Hey, you," he piped, "are you the boss of this crew?"
-
-The huge man upon the brake wheel paid him no heed, but bawled a profane
-reprimand for the misplacing of a coil of wire line.
-
-"Hey, you, I say!" The little conductor was fairly dancing impatience.
-"You, Red Shirt! Are you the boss?"
-
-The wire line having been shifted to suit him, the other condescended to
-glare down into the speaker's face. "I be--what's loose with you?"
-
-"Get that wagon off the track! You've held us up ten minutes already!
-It's an outrage!"
-
-"Aw, go chase yersilf! Whad'ye s'pose I care av yer tin minutes late, er
-tin hours? I've got trouble av me own."
-
-"You get that wagon moved!" shrilled the conductor. "You're obstructing
-the United States mail, and I guess you know what that means!"
-
-Reference to the mail evidently had its effect upon the boss, for he
-very deliberately clambered to the ground and made his way leisurely
-toward the stalled wagon. "Give 'em the gad, ye wooden head! What ye
-standin' there wid yer mout' open fer?"
-
-Once more the driver plied his heavy lash and the big horses strained to
-the pull. But it was of no avail.
-
-"They can't pull it, it ain't any good to lick 'em," remonstrated the
-engineer. "A couple of you boys climb up and throw some of that stuff
-off. We can't wait here all day."
-
-The fireman and the brakeman started toward the load, but were
-confronted by the glowering boss. "Ye'll lay off a couple av trips while
-they fan ye back to life, av ye try ut!" he roared. The men turned back,
-and the boss addressed the engineer. "You try ut yersilf, av ye're
-lookin' fer a nice little lay-off in the hospital. Av ye lay here all
-day an' all night, too, ye've got no wan but yer company to thank. Who
-was ut put them rotten planks in that crossin'?"
-
-The engineer possessed a certain diplomacy that the conductor did not.
-
-"Sure, it's the company's fault. Any one can see that. They've got no
-business putting such rotten stuff into their crossings. I didn't want
-to butt in on you, boss, but if you'll just tell us what to do we'll
-help you get her out of there."
-
-The boss regarded him with suspicion, but the engineer was smiling in a
-friendly fashion, and the boss relented a little. "Mostly, ut's the
-company's fault, but partly ut's the fault av that blockhead av a
-teamster av mine. He ain't fit to drive a one-horse phaeton fer an owld
-woman's home." While the boss talked he eyed the stalled wagon
-critically. "Come over here, a couple av you sleepwalkers!" he called,
-and when the men arrived from the flat cars, he ripped out his orders
-almost in a breath. "Git a plank befront that hind wheel to ride ut over
-the rail! You frog-eater, there, that calls yersilf a teamster--cramp
-them horses hard to the right! Freeze onto the spokes now, ye sons av
-rest, an' ROLL 'ER!" Once more the big horses threw their weight into
-the traces, and the men on the wheels lifted and strained but the wagon
-held fast. For a single instant the boss looked on, then with a growl
-he leaped toward the wagon.
-
-"Throw the leather into 'em, Frenchy! Make thim leaders pull up!"
-Catching the man on the offending hind wheel by the shoulder he sent him
-spinning to the side of the track, and stooping, locked his thick
-fingers about a spoke, set his great shoulder against the tire and with
-legs spread wide, heaved upward. The load trembled, hesitated an
-instant, and moved slowly, the big boss fairly lifting the wheel up the
-short incline. A moment later it rolled away toward the flat cars,
-followed by the boss and his crew.
-
-"Beef and bluff," grinned Connie to himself as the crowd of passengers
-returned to the coaches.
-
-Connie found Mike Gillum busily stowing potatoes in an underground root
-cellar. "He's almost as big as the man with the red shirt," thought the
-boy as he watched Mike read the note Waseche Bill had given him before
-he left Ten Bow.
-
-The man paused in the middle to stare incredulously at the boy. "D'ye
-mane," he asked, in his rich Irish brogue, "thot ut's yersilf's the
-pardner av Waseche Bill--a kid loike you, the pardner av _him_?"
-
-Connie laughed; and unconsciously his shoulders stiffened. "Yes," he
-answered proudly, "we've been partners for two years."
-
-Still the man appeared incredulous. "D'ye mane ye're the wan thot he wuz
-tellin' thrailed him beyant the Ogilvies into the Lillimuit? An' put in
-the time whilst he wuz in the hospital servin' wid the Mounted? Moind
-ye, lad, Oi've be'n in the Narth mesilf, an' Oi know summat av it's
-ways."
-
-"Yes, but maybe Waseche bragged me up more than----"
-
-Mike Gillum interrupted him by thrusting forth a grimy hand. "Br-ragged
-ye up, is ut! An-ny one thot c'n do the things ye've done, me b'y, don't
-nade no braggin' up. Ut's proud Oi am to know ye--Waseche towld me ye
-wuz ondly a kid, but Oi had in me moind a shtrappin' young blade av
-mebbe ut's twinty-foor or -five, not a wee shtrip av a lad loike ye.
-Come on in the house till Oi wash up a bit, thim praties has got me back
-fair bruk a'ready."
-
-The big Irishman would not hear of the boy's putting up at a hotel, and
-after supper the two sat upon the foreman's little veranda that
-overlooked the river and talked until far into the night.
-
-"So ye've got to kape yer oye on um, lad," the Irishman concluded, after
-a long discourse upon the ins and outs, and whys and wherefores of the
-logging situation on Dogfish. "Ut's mesilf'll give you all the help Oi
-can, faylin' raysponsible fer sindin' him to Waseche. There's divilmint
-in the air fer this winter. The Syndicate's goin' to put a camp on
-Dogfish below ye, same as last winter. Oi've wor-rked fer um long enough
-to know ut's only to buck you folks they're doin' ut, fer their plans
-wuz not to do an-ny cuttin' on the Dogfish tract fer several years to
-come. Whin Oi heard they wuz goin' to put a camp there Oi applied fer
-the job av bossin' ut, but they towld me Oi wuz nayded over on Willow
-River." Mike Gillum knocked the dottle from his pipe and grinned
-broadly. "'Twuz a complimint they paid me," he said. "They know me loike
-Oi know thim--av there's crooked wor-ruk to be done in a camp, they take
-care that Oi ain't the boss av ut. But Willow River is only tin miles
-back--due narth av the McClusky tract."
-
-[Illustration: MIKE GILLUM TOOK CONNIE TO THE RIVER WHERE MILES OF BOOMS
-HELD MILLIONS OF FEET OF LOGS]
-
-The next morning Mike Gillum took Connie to the river where miles of
-booms held millions of feet of logs which awaited their turn at the
-sawmills whose black smoke belched from stacks at some distance
-downstream where the river plunged over the apron of the dam in a mad
-whirl of white water.
-
-"How can they tell which mill the logs are to go to?" asked the boy, as
-he gazed out over the acres of boomed timber.
-
-"Each log carries uts mark, they're sorted in the river. We'll walk on
-down where ye c'n see um jerked drippin' to the saws."
-
-"Does Hurley live here?" asked Connie, as the two followed the river
-bank toward the dam.
-
-"Naw, he lives at Pine Hook, down the road a ways. Ut's about time he
-wuz showin' up, though. He lays in his supplies an' fills in his crew
-here. He towld me last spring he wuz goin' to run two camps this
-winter." They were close above the dam and had to raise their voices to
-make themselves heard above the roar of the water that dashed over the
-apron.
-
-"Look!" cried Connie, suddenly, pointing toward a slender green canoe
-that floated in the current at a distance of a hundred yards or so from
-shore, and the same distance above the falls. "There's a woman in it and
-she's in trouble!" The big Irishman looked, shading his eyes with his
-hands.
-
-"She's losin' ground!" he exclaimed. "She's caught in the suck av the
-falls!" The light craft was pointed upstream and the woman was paddling
-frantically, but despite her utmost efforts the canoe was being drawn
-slowly toward the brink of the white water apron.
-
-With a roar the big Irishman sprang to the water's edge and raced up the
-bank toward a tiny wharf to which were tied several skiffs with their
-oars in the locks. Connie measured the distance with his eye. "He'll
-never make it!" he decided, and jerking off coat and shoes, rushed to
-the water. "Keep paddling, ma'am!" he called at the top of his lungs,
-and plunged in. With swift, sure strokes the boy struck out for the
-canoe. The woman saw him coming and redoubled her efforts.
-
-"Come back, ye idiot!" bellowed a voice from the bank, but Connie did
-not even turn his head. He had entered the water well upstream from the
-little craft, and the current bore him down upon it as he increased his
-distance from shore. A moment later he reached up and grasped the
-gunwale. "Keep paddling!" he urged, as he drew himself slowly over the
-bow, at the same time keeping the canoe in perfect balance. "Where's
-your other paddle?" he shouted.
-
-"There's--only--this," panted the woman.
-
-"Give it here!" cried the boy sharply, "and lie flat in the bottom!
-We've got to go over the dam!"
-
-"No, no, no!" shrieked the woman, "we'll be killed! Several----"
-
-With a growl of impatience, Connie wrenched the paddle from her hands.
-"Lie down, or I'll knock you down!" he thundered, and with a moan of
-terror the woman sank to the bottom of the canoe. Kneeling low, the boy
-headed the frail craft for a narrow strip of water that presented an
-unbroken, oily surface as it plunged over the apron. On either hand the
-slope showed only the churning white water. Connie gave one glance
-toward the bank where a little knot of men had collected, and the next
-moment the canoe shot, head on, straight over the brink of the falls.
-For an instant it seemed to hang suspended with half its length hanging
-over, clear of the water. Then it shot downward to bury its bow in the
-smother of boiling churning, white water at the foot of the apron. For
-a moment it seemed to Connie as though the canoe were bound to be
-swamped. It rolled loggily causing the water it had shipped to slosh
-over the clothing and face of the limp form of the woman in the bottom.
-The boy was afraid she would attempt to struggle free of it, but she lay
-perfectly still. She had fainted. The canoe hesitated for a moment,
-wobbling uncertainly, as the overroll at the foot of the falls held it
-close against the apron, then it swung heavily into the grip of an eddy
-and Connie at length succeeded in forcing it toward the bank, wallowing
-so low in the water that the gunwales were nearly awash.
-
-Eager hands grasped the bow as it scraped upon the shore, and while the
-men lifted the still form from the bottom, Connie slipped past them and
-made his way to the place he had left his coat and shoes.
-
-Mike Gillum met him at the top of the bank.
-
-"Arrah! Me laddie, ut's a gr-rand thrick ye pulled! No wan but a
-_tillicum_ av the Narth country c'ud of done ut! Oi see fer mesilf how
-ut come ye're the pardner av Waseche Bill. Av Oi had me doubts about yer
-bitin' off more thin ye c'ud chaw wid Hurley, Oi've got over 'em, now,
-an'--" He stopped abruptly and glanced toward the river. "Shpakin' av
-Hurley--there he comes, now!" he whispered, and Connie glanced up to see
-a huge man advancing toward them at the head of a little group that
-approached from the point where he had landed the canoe. The boy stared
-in amazement--it was the red-shirted giant of the stalled wagon.
-
-"So that's Hurley," said he, quietly. "Well, here's where I strike him
-for a job."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III
-
-INTO THE WOODS
-
-
-The upshot of Connie Morgan's interview with Hurley, the big red-shirted
-camp boss, was that the boss hired him with the injunction to show up
-bright and early the following morning, as the train that was to haul
-the outfit to the Dogfish Spur would leave at daylight.
-
-"'Tiz a foine job ye've got--wor-rkin' f'r forty dollars a month in yer
-own timber," grinned big Mike Gillum, as he packed the tobacco into the
-bowl of his black pipe, when the two found themselves once more seated
-upon the Syndicate foreman's little veranda at the conclusion of the
-evening meal.
-
-Connie laughed. "Yes, but it will amount to a good deal more than forty
-dollars a month if I can save the timber. We lost fourteen thousand
-dollars last year because those logs got mixed. I don't see yet how he
-worked it. You say the logs are all branded."
-
-"Who knows what brands he put on 'em? Or, wuz they branded at all? They
-wuz sorted in th' big river but the drive was fouled in the Dogfish.
-S'pose the heft of your logs wuz branded wid the Syndicate brand--or no
-brand at all? The wans that wuz marked for the Syndicate w'd go to
-Syndicate mills, an' the wans that wuzn't branded w'd go into the pool,
-to be awarded pro raty to all outfits that had logs in the drive."
-
-"I'll bet the right brand will go onto them this year!" exclaimed the
-boy.
-
-Mike Gillum nodded. "That's what ye're there for. But, don't star-rt
-nawthin' 'til way along towards spring. Jake Hurley's a boss that can
-get out the logs--an' that's what you want. Av ye wuz to tip off yer
-hand too soon, the best ye c'd do w'd be to bust up the outfit wid
-nawthin' to show f'r the season's expenses. Keep yer eyes open an' yer
-mout' shut. Not only ye must watch Hurley, but keep an eye on the
-scaler, an' check up the time book, an' the supplies--av course ye c'n
-only do the two last av he puts ye to clerking, an' Oi'm thinkin' that's
-what he'll do. Ut's either clerk or cookee f'r you, an most an-ny wan
-w'd do f'r a cookee."
-
-The foreman paused, and Connie saw a twinkle in his eye as he continued:
-"Ye see, sometimes a boss overestimates the number av min he's got
-workin'. Whin he makes out the pay roll he writes in a lot av names av
-min that's mebbe worked f'r him years back, an' is dead, or mebbe it's
-just a lot av names av min that ain't lived yet, but might be born
-sometime; thin whin pay day comes the boss signs the vouchers an' sticks
-the money in his pockets. Moind ye, I ain't sayin' Hurley done that but
-he'd have a foine chanct to, wid his owner way up in Alaska. An' now
-we'll be goin' to bed f'r ye have to git up early. Oi'll be on Willow
-River; av they's an-nything Oi c'n do, ye c'n let me know."
-
-Connie thanked his friend, and before he turned in, wrote a letter to
-his partner in Ten Bow:
-
-    "DEAR WASECHE:
-
-    "I'm O.K. How are you? Got the job. Don't write. Mike Gillum is
-    O. K. See you in the spring.
-
-            "Yours truly,
-                "C. MORGAN."
-
-Before daylight Connie was at the siding where the two flat cars loaded
-at Pine Hook, and two box cars that contained the supplies and the
-horses were awaiting the arrival of the freight train that was to haul
-them seventy miles to Dogfish Spur. Most of the crew was there before
-him. Irishmen, Norwegians, Swedes, Frenchmen, and two or three Indians,
-about thirty-five in all, swarmed upon the cars or sat in groups upon
-the ground. Hurley was here, there, and everywhere, checking up his
-crew, and giving the final round of inspection to his supplies.
-
-A long whistle sounded, and the headlight of a locomotive appeared far
-down the track. Daylight was breaking as the heavy train stopped to pick
-up the four cars. Connie climbed with the others to the top of a box car
-and deposited his turkey beside him upon the running board. The turkey
-consisted of a grain sack tied at either end with a rope that passed
-over the shoulder, and contained the outfit of clothing that Mike Gillum
-had advised him to buy. The tops of the cars were littered with similar
-sacks, their owners using them as seats or pillows.
-
-As the train rumbled into motion and the buildings of the town dropped
-into the distance, the conductor made his way over the tops of the cars
-followed closely by Hurley. Together they counted the men and the
-conductor checked the count with a memorandum. Then he went back to the
-caboose, and Hurley seated himself beside Connie.
-
-"Ever work in the woods?" he asked.
-
-"No."
-
-"Be'n to school much?"
-
-"Yes, some."
-
-"'Nough to figger up time books, an' keep track of supplies, an' set
-down the log figgers when they're give to you?"
-
-"I think so."
-
-"Ye look like a smart 'nough kid--an' ye've got nerve, all right. I
-tried to holler ye back when I seen ye swimmin' out to that canoe
-yeste'day--I didn't think you could make it--that woman was a fool.
-She'd ort to drownded. But, what I was gettin' at, is this: I'm a goin'
-to put you to clerkin'. Clerkin' in a log camp is a good job--most
-bosses was clerks onct. A clerk's s'posed to make hisself handy around
-camp an' keep the books--I'll show you about them later. We're goin' in
-early this year, 'cause I'm goin' to run two camps an' we got to lay
-out the new one an' git it built. We won't start gittin' out no timber
-for a month yet. I'll git things a goin' an' then slip down an' pick up
-my crew."
-
-"Why, haven't you got your crew?" Connie glanced at the men who lay
-sprawled in little groups along the tops of the cars.
-
-"Part of it. I'm fetchin' out thirty-five this time. That's 'nough to
-build the new camp an' patch up the old one, but when we begin gittin'
-out the logs, this here'll just about make a crew for the new camp. I
-figger to work about fifty in the old one."
-
-"Do you boss both camps?"
-
-Hurly grinned. "Don't I look able?"
-
-"You sure do," agreed the boy, with a glance at the man's huge bulk.
-
-"They'll only be three or four miles apart, an' I'll put a boss in each
-one, an' I'll be the walkin' boss." The cars jerked and swayed, as the
-train roared through the jack pine country.
-
-"I suppose this was all big woods once," ventured the boy.
-
-"Naw--not much of it wasn't--not this jack pine and scrub spruce
-country. You can gener'lly always tell what was big timber, an' what
-wasn't. Pine cuttin's don't seed back to pine. These jack pines ain't
-young pine--they're a different tree altogether. Years back, the
-lumbermen wouldn't look at nawthin' but white pine, an' only the very
-best of that--but things is different now. Yaller pine and spruce looks
-good to 'em, an' they're even cuttin' jack pine. They work it up into
-mine timbers, an' posts, an' ties, an' paper pulp. What with them an'
-the pig iron loggers workin' the ridges, this here country'll grow up to
-hazel brush, and berries, an' weeds, 'fore your hair turns grey."
-
-"What are pig iron loggers?" asked the boy.
-
-"The hardwood men. They git out the maple an' oak an' birch along the
-high ground an' ridges--they ain't loggers, they jest think they are."
-
-"You said pine cuttings don't seed back to pine?"
-
-"Naw, it seems funny, but they don't. Old cuttin's grow up to popple and
-scrub oak, like them with the red leaves, yonder; or else to hazel brush
-and berries. There used to be a few patches of pine through this jack
-pine country, but it was soon cut off. This here trac' we're workin' is
-about as good as there is left. With a good crew we'd ort to make a big
-cut this winter."
-
-The wheels pounded noisily at the rail ends as the boss's eyes rested
-upon the men who sat talking and laughing among themselves. "An'
-speakin' of crews, this here one's goin' to need some cullin'." He fixed
-his eyes on the boy with a look almost of ferocity. "An' here's another
-thing that a clerk does, that I forgot to mention: He hears an' sees a
-whole lot more'n he talks. You'll bunk in the shack with me an' the
-scaler--an' what's talked about in there's _our_ business--d'ye git me?"
-
-Connie returned the glance fearlessly. "I guess you'll know I can keep a
-thing or two under my cap when we get better acquainted," he answered
-The reply seemed to satisfy Hurley, who continued,
-
-"As I was sayin', they's some of them birds ain't goin' to winter
-through in no camp of mine. See them three over there on the end of that
-next car, a talkin' to theirselfs. I got an idee they're I. W.
-W.'s--mistrusted they was when I hired 'em."
-
-"What are I. W. W.'s?" Connie asked.
-
-"They're a gang of sneakin' cutthroats that call theirselfs the
-Industrial Workers of the World, though why they claim they're workers
-is more'n what any one knows. They won't work, an' they won't let no one
-else work. The only time they take a job is when they think there's a
-chanct to sneak around an' put the kibosh on whatever work is goin' on.
-They tell the men they're downtrod by capital an' they'd ort to raise up
-an' kill off the bosses an' grab everything fer theirselfs. Alongside of
-them birds, rattlesnakes an' skunks is good companions."
-
-"Aren't there any laws that will reach them?"
-
-"Naw," growled Hurley in disgust. "When they git arrested an' convicted,
-the rest of 'em raises such a howl that capital owns the courts, an' the
-judges is told to hang all the workin' men they kin, an' a lot of rot
-like that, till the governors git cold feet an' pardon them. If the
-government used 'em right, it'd outlaw the whole kaboodle of 'em. Some
-governors has got the nerve to tell 'em where to head in at--Washington,
-an' California, an' Minnesota, too, is comin' to it. They're gittin' in
-their dirty work in the woods--but believe me, they won't git away with
-nothin' in my camps! I'm just a-layin' an' a-honin' to tear loose on
-'em. Them three birds over there is goin' to need help when I git
-through with 'em."
-
-"Why don't you fire 'em now?"
-
-"Not me. I _want_ 'em to start somethin'! I want to git a crack at 'em.
-There's three things don't go in my camps--gamblin', booze, an' I. W.
-W.'s. I've logged from the State of Maine to Oregon an' halfways back.
-I've saw good camps an' bad ones a-plenty, an' I never seen no trouble
-in the woods that couldn't be charged up ag'in' one of them three."
-
-The train stopped at a little station and Hurley rose with a yawn.
-"Guess I'll go have a look at the horses," he said, and clambered down
-the ladder at the end of the car.
-
-The boss did not return when the train moved on and the boy sat upon the
-top of the jolting, swaying box car and watched the ever changing woods
-slip southward. Used as he was to the wide open places, Connie gazed
-spellbound at the dazzling brilliance of the autumn foliage. Poplar and
-birch woods, flaunting a sea of bright yellow leaves above white trunks,
-were interspersed with dark thickets of scarlet oak and blazing sumac,
-which in turn gave place to the dark green sweep of a tamarack swamp,
-or a long stretch of scrubby jack pine. At frequent intervals squared
-clearings appeared in the endless succession of forest growth, where
-little groups of cattle browsed in the golden stubble of a field. A
-prim, white painted farmhouse, with its big red barn and its setting of
-conical grain stacks would flash past, and again the train would plunge
-between the walls of vivid foliage, or roar across a trestle, or whiz
-along the shore of a beautiful land-locked lake whose clear, cold waters
-sparkled dazzlingly in the sunlight as the light breeze rippled its
-surface.
-
-Every few miles, to the accompaniment of shrieking brake shoes, the
-train would slow to a stop, and rumble onto a siding at some little flat
-town, to allow a faster train to hurl past in a rush of smoke, and dust,
-and deafening roar, and whistle screams. Then the wheezy engine would
-nose out onto the main track, back into another siding, pick up a box
-car or two, spot an empty at the grain spout of a sagging red-brown
-elevator, and couple onto the train again with a jolt that threatened to
-bounce the cars from the rails, and caused the imprisoned horses to
-stamp and snort nervously. The conductor would wave his arm and, after
-a series of preliminary jerks that threatened to tear out the drawbars,
-the train would rumble on its way.
-
-At one of these stations a longer halt than usual was made while train
-crew and lumberjacks crowded the counter of a slovenly little restaurant
-upon whose fly swarming counter doughnuts, sandwiches, and pies of
-several kinds reposed beneath inverted semispherical screens that served
-as prisons for innumerable flies.
-
-"The ones that wiggles on yer tongue is flies, an' the ones that don't
-is apt to be blueberries," explained a big lumberjack to Connie as he
-bit hugely into a wedge of purplish pie. Connie selected doughnuts and a
-bespeckled sandwich which he managed to wash down with a few mouthfuls
-of mud-coloured coffee, upon the surface of which floated soggy grounds
-and flakes of soured milk.
-
-"Flies is healthy," opined the greasy proprietor, noting the look of
-disgust with which the boy eyed the filthy layout.
-
-"I should think they would be. You don't believe in starving them,"
-answered the boy, and a roar of laughter went up from the loggers who
-proceeded to "kid" the proprietor unmercifully as he relapsed into
-surly mutterings about the dire future in store for "fresh brats."
-
-During the afternoon the poplar and birch woods and the flaming patches
-of scarlet oak and sumac, gave place to the dark green of pines. The
-farms became fewer and farther between, and the distance increased
-between the little towns, where, instead of grain elevators, appeared
-dilapidated sawmills, whose saws had long lain idle. Mere ghosts of
-towns, these, whose day had passed with the passing of the timber that
-had been the sole excuse for their existence. But, towns whose few
-remaining inhabitants doggedly clung to their homes and assured each
-other with pathetic persistence, as they grubbed in the sandy soil of
-their stump-studded gardens, that with the coming of the farmers the
-town would step into its own as the centre of a wonderfully prosperous
-agricultural community. Thus did the residents of each dead little town
-believe implicitly in the future of their own town, and prophesy with
-jealous vehemence the absolute decadence of all neighbouring towns.
-
-Toward the middle of the afternoon a boy, whom Connie had noticed
-talking and laughing with the three lumberjacks Hurley suspected of
-being I. W. W.'s, walked along the tops of the swaying cars and seated
-himself beside him. Producing paper and tobacco he turned his back to
-the wind and rolled a cigarette, which he lighted, and blew a cloud of
-smoke into Connie's face. He was not a prepossessing boy, with his
-out-bulging forehead and stooping shoulders. Apparently he was about two
-years Connie's senior.
-
-"Want the makin's?" he snarled, by way of introduction.
-
-"No thanks. I don't smoke."
-
-The other favoured him with a sidewise glance. "Oh, you don't, hey? My
-name's Steve Motley, an' I'm a bear-cat--_me!_ I'm cookee of this here
-camp--be'n in the woods goin' on two years. Ever work in the woods?"
-
-Connie shook his head. "No," he answered, "I never worked in the woods."
-
-"Whatcha done, then? You don't look like no city kid."
-
-"Why, I've never done much of anything to speak of--just knocked around
-a little."
-
-"Well, you'll knock around some more 'fore you git through this winter.
-We're rough guys, us lumberjacks is, an' we don't like greeners. I
-'spect though, you'll be runnin' home to yer ma 'fore snow flies. It
-gits forty below, an' the snow gits three foot deep in the woods."
-Connie seemed unimpressed by this announcement, and Steve continued:
-"They say you're goin' to do the clerkin' fer the outfit. Hurley, he
-wanted me to do the clerkin', but I wouldn't do no clerkin' fer no man.
-Keep all them different kind of books an' git cussed up one side an'
-down t'other fer chargin' 'em up with somethin' they claim they never
-got out'n the wanagan. Not on yer life--all I got to do is help the
-cook. We're gettin' clost to Dogfish Spur now, an' the camp's
-twenty-seven mile off'n the railroad. Guess you won't feel lost nor
-nothin' when you git so far back in the big sticks, hey?"
-
-Connie smiled. "That's an awfully long ways," he admitted.
-
-"You bet it is! An' the woods is full of wolves an' bears, an' bobcats!
-If I was figgerin' on quittin' I'd quit 'fore I got into the timber."
-
-The train was slowing down, and Steve arose. "Y'ain't told me yer name,
-greener! Y'better learn to be civil amongst us guys."
-
-Connie met the bullying look of the other with a smile. "My name is
-Connie Morgan," he said, quietly, "and, I forgot to mention it, but I
-did hold down one job for a year."
-
-"In the woods?"
-
-"Well, not exactly. Over across the line it was."
-
-"Acrost the line--in Canady? What was _you_ doin' in Canady?"
-
-"Taming 'bear-cats' for the Government," answered the boy, dryly, and
-rose to his feet just as Hurley approached, making his way over the tops
-of the cars.
-
-"You wait till I git holt of you!" hissed Steve, scowling. "You think
-y're awful smart when y're around in under Hurley's nose. But I'll show
-you how us guys handles the boss's pets when he ain't around." The boy
-hurried away as Hurley approached.
-
-"Be'n gittin' in his brag on ye?" grinned the boss, as his eyes followed
-the retreating back. "He's no good--all mouth. But he's bigger'n what
-you be. If he tries to start anything just lam him over the head with
-anything that's handy. He'll leave you be, onct he's found out you mean
-business."
-
-"Oh, I guess we won't have any trouble," answered Connie, as he followed
-Hurley to the ground.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV
-
-CONNIE TAMES A BEAR-CAT
-
-
-As the cars came to rest upon the spur, plank runways were placed in
-position and the horses led to the ground and tied to trees. All hands
-pitched into the work of unloading. Wagons appeared and were set up as
-if by magic as, under the boss's direction, supplies and equipment were
-hustled from the cars.
-
-"You come along with us," said Hurley, indicating a tote wagon into
-which men were loading supplies. "I'm takin' half a dozen of the boys
-out tonight to kind of git the camp in shape. It'll take four or five
-days to haul this stuff an' you can help along till the teams start
-comin', an' then you've got to check the stuff in. Here's your
-lists--supplies on that one, and equipment on this. Don't O. K. nothin'
-till it's in the storehouse or the cook's camp or wherever it goes to."
-
-Connie took the papers and, throwing his turkey onto the load, climbed
-up and took his place beside the men. The teamster cracked his whip and
-the four rangy horses started away at a brisk trot.
-
-For five miles or so, as it followed the higher ground of a hardwood
-ridge, the road was fairly good, then it plunged directly into the pines
-and after that there was no trotting. Mile after mile the horses plodded
-on, the wheels sinking half-way to the hubs in the soft dry sand, or, in
-the lower places, dropping to the axles into chuck holes and plowing
-through sticky mud that fell from the spokes and felloes in great
-chunks. Creeks were forded, and swamps crossed on long stretches of
-corduroy that threatened momentarily to loosen every bolt in the wagon.
-As the team swung from the hardwood ridge, the men leaped to the ground
-and followed on foot. They were a cheerful lot, always ready to lend a
-hand in helping the horses up the hill, or in lifting a wheel from the
-clutch of some particularly bad chuck hole. Connie came in for a share
-of good-natured banter, that took the form, for the most part, of
-speculation upon how long he would last "hoofing it on shank's mares,"
-and advice as to how to stick on the wagon when he should get tired
-out. The boy answered all the chafing with a smiling good humour that
-won the regard of the rough lumberjacks as his tramping mile after mile
-through the sand and mud without any apparent fatigue won their secret
-admiration.
-
-"He's a game un," whispered Saginaw Ed, as he tramped beside Swede
-Larson, whose pale blue eyes rested upon the back of the sturdy little
-figure that plodded ahead of them.
-
-"Yah, ay tank hay ban' valk befoor. Hay ain' drag hees foot lak he gon'
-for git tire out queek. Ay bat ju a tollar he mak de camp wit'out ride."
-
-"You're on," grinned Saginaw, "an', at that, you got an even break. I
-can't see he's wobblin' none yet, an' it's only nine or ten miles to go.
-I wished we had that wapple-jawed, cigarette-smokin' cookee along--I'd
-like to see this un show him up."
-
-"Hay show ham up a'rat--ju yoost vait."
-
-Twilight deepened and the forest road became dim with black shadows.
-
-"The moon'll be up directly," observed Hurley, who was walking beside
-Connie. "But it don't give none too much light, nohow, here in the
-woods. I've got to go on ahead and pilot."
-
-"I'll go with you," said the boy, and Hurley eyed him closely.
-
-"Say, kid, don't let these here jay-hawkers talk ye inter walkin'
-yerself to death. They don't like nawthin' better'n to make a greener
-live hard. Let 'em yelp theirself hoarse an' when you git tuckered jest
-you climb up beside Frenchy there an' take it easy. You got to git broke
-in kind of slow to start off with an' take good care of yer feet."
-
-"Oh, I'm not tired. I like to walk," answered the boy, and grinned to
-himself. "Wonder what he'd think if he knew about some of the trails
-I've hit. I guess it would make his little old twenty-mile hike shrink
-some."
-
-As they advanced into the timber the road became worse, and Connie, who
-had never handled horses, wondered at the dexterity with which Frenchy
-guided the four-horse tote-team among stumps and chuck holes, and steep
-pitches. Every little way it was necessary for Hurley to call a halt,
-while the men chopped a log, or a thick mat of tops from the road. It
-was nearly midnight when the team swung into a wide clearing so
-overgrown that hardly more than the roofs of the low log buildings
-showed above the tops of the brambles and tall horseweed stalks.
-
-"All right, boys!" called the boss. "We won't bother to unload only what
-we need for supper. Don't start no fire in the big range tonight. Here,
-you, Saginaw, you play cook. You can boil a batch of tea and fry some
-ham on the office stove--an' don't send no more sparks up the stovepipe
-than what you need to. If fire got started in these weeds we'd have two
-camps to build instead of one; Swede, you help Frenchy with the horses,
-an' yous other fellows fill them lanterns an' git what you need unloaded
-an' cover the wagon with a tarp."
-
-"What can I do?" asked Connie. Hurley eyed him with a laugh. "Gosh
-sakes! Ain't you petered out yet? Well, go ahead and help Saginaw with
-the supper--the can stuff and dishes is on the hind end of the load."
-
-The following days were busy ones for Connie. Men and teams laboured
-over the road, hauling supplies and equipment from the railway, while
-other men attacked the weed-choked clearing with brush-scythes and
-mattocks, and made necessary repairs about the camp. It was the boy's
-duty to check all incoming material whether of supplies or equipment,
-and between the arrival of teams he found time to make himself useful in
-the chinking of camp buildings and in numerous other ways.
-
-"I'll show you about the books, now," said Hurley one evening as they
-sat in the office, or boss's camp, as the small building that stood off
-by itself was called. This room was provided with two rude pine desks
-with split log stools. A large air-tight stove occupied the centre of
-the floor, and two double-tier bunks were built against the wall. The
-wanagan chests were also ranged along the log wall into which pins had
-been inserted for the hanging of snow-shoes, rifles, and clothing.
-
-The boss took from his desk several books. "This one," he began, "is the
-wanagan book. If a wanagan book is kep' right ye never have no
-trouble--if it ain't ye never have nawthin' else. Some outfits gouge the
-men on the wanagan--I don't. I don't even add haulin' cost to the
-price--they can git tobacker an' whatever they need jest as cheap here
-as what they could in town. But they've be'n cheated so much with
-wanagans that they expect to be. The best way to keep 'em from growlin'
-is to name over the thing an' the price to 'em after they've bought it,
-even if it's only a dime's worth of tobacker. Then jest name off the
-total that's ag'in' 'em--ye can do that by settin' it down to one side
-with a pencil each time. That don't never give them a chanct to kick,
-an' they soon find it out. I don't run no 'dollar you got, dollar you
-didn't get, an' dollar you ort to got' outfit. They earn what's comin'
-to 'em. Some augers they might as well gouge 'em 'cause they go an' blow
-it all in anyhow, soon as they get to town--but what's that any of my
-business? It's theirn.
-
-"This here book is the time book. Git yer pen, now, an' I'll call ye off
-the names an' the wages an' you can set 'em down." When the task was
-completed the boss continued: "Ye know about the supply book, an' here's
-the log book--but ye won't need that fer a while yit. I've got to cruise
-around tomorrow an' find a location fer the new camp. I want to git it
-laid out as quick as I can so the men can git to cuttin' the road
-through. Then they can git to work on the buildin's while I go back an'
-fill me out a crew.
-
-"Wish't you'd slip over to the men's camp an' tell Saginaw I want to see
-him. I'll make him straw boss while I am gone--the men like him, an' at
-the same time they know he won't stand for no monkey business."
-
-"What's a straw boss?" asked the boy.
-
-"He's the boss that's boss when the boss ain't around," explained
-Hurley, as Connie put on his cap and proceeded to the men's camp, a long
-log building from whose windows yellow lamplight shone. The moment he
-opened the door he was thankful indeed, that Hurley had invited him to
-share the boss's camp. Although the night was not cold, a fire roared in
-the huge box stove that occupied the centre of the long room. A fine
-drizzle had set in early in the afternoon, and the drying racks about
-the stove were ladened with the rain-dampened garments of the men. Steam
-from these, mingled with the smoke from thirty-odd pipes and the reek of
-drying rubbers and socks, rendered the air of the bunk house thick with
-an odorous fog that nearly stifled Connie as he stepped into the
-superheated interior.
-
-Seated upon an upper bunk with his feet dangling over the edge, one of
-the men was playing vociferously upon a cheap harmonica, while others
-sat about upon rude benches or the edges of bunks listening or talking.
-The boy made his way over the uneven floor, stained with dark splotches
-of tobacco juice, toward the farther end of the room, where Saginaw Ed
-was helping Frenchy mend a piece of harness.
-
-As he passed a bunk midway of the room, Steve rose to his feet and
-confronted him. "Ha! Here's the greener kid--the boss's pet that's too
-good to bunk in the men's camp! Whatchu doin' in here? Did Hurley send
-you after some strap oil?" As the two boys stood facing each other in
-the middle of the big room the men saw that the cookee was the taller
-and the heavier of the two. The harmonica stopped and the men glanced in
-grinning expectation at the two figures. Steve's sneering laugh sounded
-startingly loud in the sudden silence. "He made his brag he used to tame
-bear-cats over in Canady!" he said. "Well, I'm a bear-cat--come on an'
-tame me! I'm wild!" Reaching swiftly the boy jerked the cap from
-Connie's head and hurled it across the room where it lodged in an upper
-bunk. Some of the men laughed, but there were others who did not
-laugh--those who noted the slight paling of the smaller boy's face and
-the stiffening of his muscles. With hardly a glance at Steve, Connie
-stepped around him and walked to where Saginaw Ed sat, an interested
-spectator of the scene.
-
-"The boss wants to see you in the office," he said, and turning on his
-heel, retraced his steps. Steve stood in the middle of the floor where
-he had left him, the sneering smile still upon his lips.
-
-"I believe he's goin' to cry," he taunted, and again some men laughed.
-
-"What is it you say you are? I don't believe they all heard you." Again
-Connie was facing him, and his voice was steady and very low.
-
-"I'm a bear-cat!"
-
-Connie stretched out his arm: "Give me my cap, please, I'm in a hurry."
-The boy seized the hand roughly, which was just what Connie expected,
-and the next instant his other hand closed about Steve's wrist and quick
-as a flash he whirled and bent sharply forward. There was a shrill yelp
-of pain as the older boy shot over Connie's lowered shoulder and struck
-with a thud upon the uneven floor. The next instant Connie was astride
-the prostrate form and with a hand at his elbow and another at his
-wrist, slowly forced the boy's arm upward between his shoulder blades.
-
-"O-o-o, O-w-w!" howled Steve. "Take him off! He's killin' me!" Roars of
-laughter filled the room as the lumberjacks looked on with shouts of
-encouragement and approval. The cookee continued to howl and beg.
-
-"Once more, now," said Connie, easing up a bit on the arm. "Tell them
-what you are."
-
-"Le' me up! Yer broke my arm!"
-
-"Oh, no I didn't." Connie increased the pressure. "Come on, tell them
-what you told them a minute ago. Some of them look as if they don't
-believe it."
-
-[Illustration: "COME ON, TELL THEM WHAT YOU TOLD THEM A MINUTE AGO"]
-
-"O-w-w, I'm a-a bear-cat--O-w-w!" whimpered the boy, with such a
-shame-faced expression that the men roared with delight.
-
-Connie rose to his feet. "Climb up there and get my cap, and bring it
-down and hand it to me," he ordered tersely. "And the next time you feel
-wild, just let me know."
-
-For only an instant the boy looked into the blue-grey eyes that regarded
-him steadily and then sullenly, without a word, he stepped onto the
-lower bunk, groped for a moment in the upper one and handed Connie his
-cap. A moment later the boy, accompanied by Saginaw Ed, stepped out into
-the night, but Saginaw saw what Connie did not--the look of crafty
-malevolence that flashed into Steve's eyes as they followed the
-departing pair.
-
-"By jiminetty, kid, y're all right!" approved the man, as they walked
-toward the office. "That was as handy a piece of work as I ever seen,
-an' they ain't a man in camp'll fergit it. You're there! But keep yer
-eye on that cookee--he's a bad egg. Them kind can't take a lickin' like
-a man. He'll lay fer to git even, if it takes him all winter--not so
-much fer what you done to him as where you done it--with the men all
-lookin' on. They never will quit raggin' him with his bear-cat
-stuff--an' he knows it."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V
-
-HURLEY LAYS OUT THE NEW CAMP
-
-
-"Want to go 'long?" asked Hurley, the morning after the "bear-cat"
-incident, as he and Connie were returning to the office from breakfast
-at the cook's camp. "I've got to locate the new camp an' then we'll
-blaze her out an' blaze the road so Saginaw can keep the men goin'." The
-boy eagerly assented, and a few moments later they started, Hurley
-carrying an axe, and Connie with a light hand-axe thrust into his belt.
-Turning north, they followed the river. It was slow travelling, for it
-was necessary to explore every ravine in search of a spot where a road
-crossing could be effected without building a bridge. The spot located,
-Hurley would blaze a tree and they would strike out for the next ravine.
-
-"It ain't like we had to build a log road," explained the boss, as he
-blazed a point that, to Connie, looked like an impossible crossing.
-"Each camp will have its own rollways an' all we need is a tote road
-between 'em. Frenchy Lamar can put a team anywhere a cat will go. He's
-the best hand with horses on the job, if he is a jumper."
-
-"What's a jumper?" asked Connie.
-
-"You'll find that out fast enough. Jumpin' a man generally means a fight
-in the woods--an' I don't blame 'em none, neither. If I was a jumper an'
-a man jumped me, he'd have me to lick afterwards--an' if any one jumps a
-jumper into hittin' me, he'll have me to lick, too."
-
-When they had proceeded for four or five miles Hurley turned again
-toward the river and for two hours or more studied the ground minutely
-for a desirable location for the new camp. Up and down the bank, and
-back into the woods he paced, noting in his mind every detail of the lay
-of the land. "Here'd be the best place for the camp if it wasn't fer
-that there sand bar that might raise thunder when we come to bust out
-the rollways," he explained, as they sat down to eat their lunch at
-midday. "There ain't no good rollway ground for a half a mile below the
-bar--an' they ain't no use makin' the men walk any furthur'n what they
-have to 'specially at night when they've put in a hard day's work. We'll
-drop back an' lay her out below--it ain't quite as level, but it'll save
-time an' a lot of man-power."
-
-As Connie ate his lunch he puzzled mightily over Hurley. He had
-journeyed from far off Alaska for the purpose of bringing to justice a
-man who had swindled him and his partner out of thousands of dollars
-worth of timber. His experience with the Mounted had taught him that,
-with the possible exception of Notorious Bishop whose consummate nerve
-had commanded the respect even of the officers whose business it was to
-hunt him down, law-breakers were men who possessed few if any admirable
-qualities. Yet here was a man who, Connie was forced to admit, possessed
-many such qualities. His first concern seemed to be for the comfort of
-his men, and his orders regarding the keeping of the wanagan book showed
-that it was his intention to deal with them fairly. His attitude toward
-the despicable I. W. W.'s was the attitude that the boy knew would have
-been taken by any of the big men of the North whose rugged standards he
-had unconsciously adopted as his own. He, himself, had been treated by
-the boss with a bluff friendliness--and he knew that, despite Hurley's
-blustering gruffness, the men, with few exceptions, liked him. The boy
-frankly admitted that had he not known Hurley to be a crook he too would
-have liked him.
-
-Luncheon over, the boss arose and lighted his pipe: "Well, 'spose we
-just drop back an' lay out the camp, then on the way home we'll line up
-the road an' take some of the kinks out of it an' Saginaw can jump the
-men into it tomorrow mornin'." They had proceeded but a short distance
-when the man pointed to a track in the softer ground of a low swale:
-"Deer passed here this mornin'," he observed. "The season opens next
-week, an' I expect I won't be back with the crew in time for the fun. If
-you'd like to try yer hand at it, yer welcome to my rifle. I'll dig you
-out some shells tonight if you remind me to."
-
-"I believe I will have a try at 'em," said Connie, as he examined the
-tracks; "there were two deer--a doe, and a half-grown fawn, and there
-was a _loup-cervier_ following them--that's why they were hitting for
-the river."
-
-Hurley stared at the boy in open-mouthed astonishment: "Looky here, kid,
-I thought you said you never worked in the woods before!"
-
-Connie smiled: "I never have, but I've hunted some, up across the line."
-
-"I guess you've hunted _some_, all right," observed the boss, drily; "I
-wondered how it come you wasn't petered out that night we come into the
-woods. Wherever you've hunted ain't none of my business. When a man's
-goin' good, I b'lieve in tellin' him so--same's I b'lieve in tellin' him
-good an' plain when he ain't. You've made a good start. Saginaw told me
-about what you done to that mouthy cookee. That was all right, fer as it
-went. If I'd be'n you I'd a punched his face fer him when I had him down
-'til he hollered' 'nough'--but if you wanted to let him off that hain't
-none of my business--jest you keep yer eye on him, that's all--he's
-dirty. Guess I didn't make no mistake puttin' you in fer clerk--you've
-learnt to keep yer eyes open--that's the main thing, an' mebbe it'll
-stand you good 'fore this winter's over. There's more'n I. W. W.'s is
-the matter with this camp--" The boss stopped abruptly and, eyeing the
-boy sharply, repeated his warning of a few days before: "Keep yer mouth
-shet. There's me, an' Saginaw, an' Lon Camden--he'll be the scaler, an'
-whoever bosses Number Two Camp--Slue Foot Magee, if I can git holt of
-him. He was my straw-boss last year. If you've got anythin' to say, say
-it to us. Don't never tell nothin' to nobody else about nothin' that's
-any 'count--see?"
-
-"You can depend on me for that," answered the boy, and Hurley picked up
-his axe.
-
-"Come on, le's git that camp laid out. We won't git nothin' done if we
-stand 'round gassin' all day." The two followed down the river to the
-point indicated by Hurley where the banks sloped steeply to the water's
-edge, well below the long shallow bar that divided the current of the
-river into two channels. As they tramped through the timber Connie
-puzzled over the words of the boss. Well he knew that there was
-something wrong in camp beside the I. W. W.'s. But why should Hurley
-speak of it to him? And why should he be pleased at the boy's habit of
-observation? "Maybe he thinks I'll throw in with him on the deal," he
-thought: "Well, he's got an awful jolt coming to him if he does--but,
-things couldn't have broken better for me, at that."
-
-At the top of the steep bank Hurley blazed some trees, and with a heavy
-black pencil, printed the letter R in the centre of the flat, white
-scars. "That'll show 'em where to clear fer the rollways," he explained,
-then, striking straight back from the river for about twenty rods, he
-blazed a large tree. Turning at right angles, he proceeded about twenty
-five rods parallel with the river bank and made a similar blaze. "That
-gives 'em the corners fer the clearin', an' now fer spottin' the
-buildin's." Back and forth over the ground went the man, pausing now and
-then to blaze a tree and mark it with the initial of the building whose
-site it marked. "We don't have to corner these," he explained, "Saginaw
-knows how big to build 'em--the trees marks their centre." The sun hung
-low when the task was completed. "You strike out for the head of the
-nearest ravine," said Hurley, "an' when you come to the tree we blazed
-comin' up, you holler. Then I'll blaze the tote road to you, an' you can
-slip on to the next one. Straighten her out as much as you can by
-holdin' away from the short ravines." Connie was surprised at the
-rapidity with which Hurley followed, pausing every few yards to scar a
-tree with a single blow of his axe.
-
-The work was completed in the dark and as they emerged onto the clearing
-Hurley again regarded the boy with approval: "You done fine, kid. They's
-plenty of older hands than you be, that would of had trouble locatin'
-them blazes in the night, but you lined right out to 'em like you was
-follerin' a string. Come on, we'll go wash up an' see what the cook's
-got fer us."
-
-After supper Saginaw Ed received his final instructions, and early next
-morning Hurley struck out on foot fer Dogfish Spur. "So long, kid," he
-called from the office door. "I left the shells on top of my desk an'
-yonder hangs the rifle. I was goin' to give you a few pointers, but from
-what I seen yeste'day, I don't guess you need none about huntin'. I
-might be back in a week an' it might be two 'cordin' to how long it
-takes me to pick up a crew. I've got some men waitin' on me, but I'll
-have to rustle up the balance wherever I can git 'em. I told Saginaw he
-better move his turkey over here while I'm gone. You'll find Saginaw a
-rough-bark piece of timber--but he's sound clean plumb through to the
-heart, an' if you don't know it now, before this winter's over yer goin'
-to find out that them's the kind to tie to--when you kin find 'em."
-
-Connie gazed after the broad-shouldered form 'til it disappeared from
-sight around a bend of the tote road, then he turned to his books with a
-puzzled expression. "Either Mike Gillum was wrong, or Hurley's the
-biggest bluffer that ever lived," he muttered, "and which ever way it is
-I'll know by spring."
-
-Saginaw put his whole crew at work on the tote road. Saplings and brush
-were cleared away and thrown to the side. Trees were felled, the larger
-ones to be banked on the skidways and later hauled to the rollways to
-await the spring break-up, and the smaller ones to be collected and
-hauled to the new camp for building material.
-
-Connie's duties were very light and he spent much time upon the new tote
-road watching the men with whom he had become a great favourite. Tiring
-of that, he would take long tramps through the woods and along the banks
-of the numerous little lakes that besprinkled the country, searching for
-sign, so that, when the deer season opened he would not have to hunt at
-random, but could stalk his game at the watering places.
-
-"Whar's yer gun, sonny?" called out a lanky sawyer as the boy started
-upon one of these excursions.
-
-"Hay ain' need no gun," drawled Swede Larson, with a prodigious wink
-that distorted one whole side of his face. "Ay tank he gon fer hont some
-bear-cat." And the laughter that followed told Connie as he proceeded on
-his way, that his handling of Steve had met the universal approval of
-the crew.
-
-It was upon his return from this expedition that the boy witnessed an
-actual demonstration of the effect of sudden suggestion upon a jumper.
-Frenchy Lamar pulled his team to the side of the roadway and drew his
-watch from his pocket. At the same time, Pierce, one of the I. W. W.
-suspects, slipped up behind him and bringing the flat of his hand down
-upon Frenchy's shoulder, cried: "_throw it_." Frenchy threw it, and the
-watch dropped with a jangle of glass and useless wheels at the foot of a
-tree. The next instant Frenchy whirled upon his tormentor with a snarl.
-The man, who had no stomach for an open fight, turned to run but the
-Frenchman was too quick for him. The other two I. W. W.'s started to
-their pal's assistance but were halted abruptly, and none too gently by
-other members of the crew. "Fight!" "Fight!" The cry was taken up by
-those nearby and all within hearing rushed gleefully to the spot. The
-teamster was popular among the men and he fought amid cries of advice
-and encouragement: "Soak 'im good, Frenchy!" "Don't let 'im holler
-''nough' till he's down!"
-
-The combat was short, but very decisive. Many years' experience in the
-lumber woods had taught Frenchy the art of self-defence by force of
-fist--not, perhaps, the most exalted form of asserting a right nor of
-avenging a wrong--but, in the rougher walks of life, the most thoroughly
-practical, and the most honourable. So, when the teamster returned to
-his horses a few minutes later, it was to leave Pierce whimpering upon
-the ground nursing a badly swollen and rapidly purpling eye, the while
-he muttered incoherent threats of dire vengeance.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI
-
-THE I. W. W. SHOWS ITS HAND
-
-
-"Changed yer job?" inquired Saginaw Ed, sleepily a few mornings later
-when Connie slipped quietly from his bunk and lighted the oil lamp.
-
-"Not yet," smiled the boy. "Why?"
-
-"No one but teamsters gits up at this time of night--you got an hour to
-sleep yet."
-
-"This is the first day of the season, and I'm going out and get a deer."
-
-Saginaw laughed: "Oh, yer goin' out an' git a deer--jest like rollin'
-off a log! You might's well crawl back in bed an' wait fer a snow. Deer
-huntin' without snow is like fishin' without bait--you might snag onto
-one, but the chances is all again' it."
-
-"Bet I'll kill a deer before I get back," laughed the boy.
-
-"Better pack up yer turkey an' fix to stay a long time then," twitted
-Saginaw. "But, I won't bet--it would be like stealin'--an' besides, I
-lost one bet on you a'ready."
-
-The teamsters, their lanterns swinging, were straggling toward the
-stable as the boy crossed the clearing.
-
-"Hey, w'at you gon keel, de bear-cat?" called Frenchy.
-
-"Deer," answered Connie with a grin.
-
-"Ho! She ain' no good for hont de deer! She too mooch no snow. De groun'
-she too mooch dry. De deer, she hear you comin' wan mile too queek, den
-she ron way ver' fas', an' you no kin track heem."
-
-"Never mind about that," parried the boy, "I'll be in tonight, and in
-the morning you can go out and help me pack in the meat."
-
-"A'm help you breeng in de meat, a'ri. Ba Goss! A'm lak A'm git to bite
-me on chonk dat _venaison_."
-
-Connie proceeded as rapidly as the darkness would permit to the shore of
-a marshy lake some three or four miles from camp, and secreted himself
-behind a windfall, thirty yards from the trail made by the deer in
-going down to drink. Just at daybreak a slight sound attracted his
-attention, and peering through the screen of tangled branches, the boy
-saw a large doe picking her way cautiously down the trail. He watched in
-silence as she advanced, halted, sniffed the air suspiciously, and
-passed on to the water's edge. Lowering her head, she rubbed an
-inquisitive nose upon the surface of the thin ice that sealed the
-shallow bay of the little lake. A red tongue darted out and licked at
-the ice and she pawed daintily at it with a small front foot. Then,
-raising the foot, she brought it sharply down, and the knifelike hoof
-cut through the ice as though it were paper. Pleased with the
-performance she pawed again and again, throwing the cold water in every
-direction and seeming to find great delight in crushing the ice into the
-tiniest fragments. Tiring of this, she paused and sniffed the air,
-turning her big ears backward and forward to catch the slightest sound
-that might mean danger. Then, she drank her fill, made her way back up
-the trail, and disappeared into the timber. A short time later another,
-smaller doe followed by a spring fawn, went down, and allowing them to
-pass unharmed, Connie settled himself to wait for worthier game. An
-hour passed during which the boy ate part of the liberal lunch with
-which the cook had provided him. Just as he had about given up hope of
-seeing any further game, a sharp crackling of twigs sounded directly
-before him, and a beautiful five-prong buck broke into the trail and
-stood with uplifted head and nostrils a-quiver. Without taking his eyes
-from the buck, Connie reached for his rifle, but just as he raised it
-from the ground its barrel came in contact with a dry branch which
-snapped with a sound that rang in the boy's ears like the report of a
-cannon. With a peculiar whistling snort of fear, the buck turned and
-bounded crashing away through the undergrowth. Connie lowered the rifle
-whose sights had been trained upon the white "flag" that bobbed up and
-down until it was lost in the thick timber.
-
-"No use taking a chance shot," he muttered, disgustedly. "If I should
-hit him I would only wound him, and I couldn't track him down without
-snow. I sure am glad nobody was along to see that, or they never would
-have quit joshing me about it." Shouldering his rifle he proceeded
-leisurely toward another lake where he had spotted a water-trail, and
-throwing himself down behind a fallen log, slept for several hours. When
-he awoke the sun was well into the west and he finished his lunch and
-made ready to wait for his deer, taking good care this time that no twig
-or branch should interfere with the free use of his gun.
-
-At sunset a four-prong buck made his way cautiously down the trail and,
-waiting 'til the animal came into full view, Connie rested his rifle
-across the log and fired at a point just behind the shoulder. It was a
-clean shot, straight through the heart, and it was but the work of a few
-moments to bleed, and draw him. Although not a large buck, Connie found
-that it was more than he could do to hang him clear of the wolves, so he
-resorted to the simple expedient of peeling a few saplings and laying
-them across the carcass. This method is always safe where game or meat
-must be left exposed for a night or two, as the prowlers fear a trap.
-However, familiarity breeds contempt, and if left too long, some animal
-is almost sure to discover the ruse.
-
-Packing the heart, liver, and tongue, Connie struck out swiftly for
-camp, but darkness overtook him with a mile still to go.
-
-As he approached the clearing a low sound caused him to stop short.
-He listened and again he heard it distinctly--the sound of something
-heavy moving through the woods. The sounds grew momentarily more
-distinct--whatever it was was approaching the spot where he stood. A
-small, thick windfall lay near him, and beside it a large spruce spread
-its low branches invitingly near the ground. With hardly a sound Connie,
-pack, gun, and all, scrambled up among those thick branches and seated
-himself close to the trunk. The sounds drew nearer, and the boy could
-hear fragments of low-voiced conversation. The night prowlers were men,
-not animals! Connie's interest increased. There seemed to be several of
-them, but how many the boy could not make out in the darkness. Presently
-the leader crashed heavily into the windfall where he floundered for a
-moment in the darkness.
-
-"This is fer enough. Stick it in under here!" he growled, as the others
-came up with him. Connie heard sounds as of a heavy object being pushed
-beneath the interlaced branches of the windfall but try as he would he
-could not catch a glimpse of it. Suddenly the faces of the men showed
-vividly as one of their number held a match to the bowl of his pipe.
-They were the three I. W. W.'s and with them was Steve! "Put out that
-match you eediot! D'ye want the hull camp a pokin' their nose in our
-business?"
-
-"'Tain't no one kin see way out here," growled the other, whom Connie
-recognized as Pierce.
-
-"It's allus fellers like you that knows more'n any one else, that don't
-know nawthin'," retorted the first speaker, "come on, now, we got to git
-back. Remember--'leven o'clock on the furst night the wind blows stiff
-from the west. You, Steve, you tend to swipin' Frenchy's lantern. Pierce
-here, he'll soak the straw, an' Sam, you stand ready to drive a plug in
-the lock when I come out. Then when the excitement's runnin' high, I'll
-holler that Frenchy's lantern's missin' an' they'll think he left it lit
-in the stable. I tell ye, we'll terrorize every business in these here
-United States. We'll have 'em all down on their knees to the I. W. W.!
-Then we'll see who's the bosses an' the rich! We'll hinder the work, an'
-make it cost 'em money, an' Pierce here'll git even with Frenchy, all in
-one clatter. We'll be gittin' back, now. An' don't all pile into the
-men's camp to onct, neither."
-
-Connie sat motionless upon his branch until the sounds of the retreating
-men were lost in the darkness. What did it all mean? "Swipe Frenchy's
-lantern." "Plug the lock." "Soak the straw." "Terrorize business." The
-words of the man repeated themselves over and over in Connie's brain.
-What was this thing these men were planning to do "at eleven o'clock the
-first night the wind blows stiff from the west?" He wriggled to the
-ground and crept toward the thing the men had _cached_ in the windfall.
-It was a five-gallon can of coal-oil! "That's Steve's part of the
-scheme, whatever it is," he muttered. "He's got a key to the
-storehouse." Leaving the can undisturbed, he struck out for camp,
-splashing through the waters of a small creek without noticing it, so
-busy was his brain trying to fathom the plan of the gang. "I've got all
-day tomorrow, at least," he said, "and that'll give me time to think. I
-won't tell even Saginaw 'til I've got it doped out. I bet when they try
-to start something they'll find out who's going to be terrorized!" A few
-minutes later he entered the office and was greeted vociferously by
-Saginaw Ed:
-
-"Hello there, son, by jiminetty, I thought you'd took me serious when I
-told you you'd better make a long stay of it. What ye got there? Well,
-dog my cats, if you didn't up an' git you a deer! Slip over to the
-cook's camp an' wade into some grub. I told him to shove yer supper onto
-the back of the range, again' you got back. While yer gone I'll jest run
-a couple rags through yer rifle."
-
-When Connie returned from the cook's camp Saginaw was squinting down the
-barrel of the gun. "Shines like a streak of silver," he announced;
-"Hurley's mighty pernickety about his rifle, an' believe me, it ain't
-everyone he'd borrow it to. Tell me 'bout yer hunt," urged the man, and
-Connie saw a gleam of laughter in his eye. "Killed yer deer dead centre
-at seven hundred yards, runnin' like greased lightnin', an' the
-underbrush so thick you couldn't hardly see yer sights, I 'pose."
-
-The boy laughed: "I got him dead centre, all right, but it was a
-standing shot at about twenty yards, and I had a rest. He's only a
-four-prong--I let a five-prong get away because I was clumsy."
-
-Saginaw Ed eyed the boy quizzically: "Say, kid," he drawled. "Do you
-know where folks goes that tells the truth about huntin'?"
-
-"No," grinned Connie.
-
-"Well, I don't neither," replied Saginaw, solemnly. "I guess there ain't
-no place be'n pervided, but if they has, I bet it's gosh-awful lonesome
-there."
-
-Despite the volubility of his companion, Connie was unusually silent
-during the short interval that elapsed before they turned in. Over and
-over in his mind ran the words of the four men out there in the dark, as
-he tried to figure out their scheme from the fragmentary bits of
-conversation that had reached his ears.
-
-"Don't mope 'cause you let one buck git away, kid. Gosh sakes, the last
-buck I kilt, I got so plumb rattled when I come onto him, I missed him
-eight foot!"
-
-"How did you kill him then?" asked Connie, and the instant the words
-were spoken he realized he had swallowed the bait--hook and all.
-
-With vast solemnity, Saginaw stared straight before him: "Well, you see,
-it was the last shell in my rifle an' I didn't have none in my pocket,
-so I throw'd the gun down an' snuck up an' bit him on the lip. If ever
-you run onto a deer an' ain't got no gun, jest you sneak up in front of
-him an' bite him on the lip, an' he's yourn. I don't know no other place
-you kin bite a deer an' kill him. They're like old Acolyte, or whatever
-his name was, in the Bible, which they couldn't kill him 'til they shot
-him in the heel--jest one heel, mind you, that his ma held him up by
-when she dipped him into the kettle of bullet-proof. If he'd of be'n me,
-you bet I'd of beat it for the Doc an' had that leg cut off below the
-knee, an' a wooden one made, an' he'd of be'n goin' yet! I know a
-feller's got two wooden ones, with shoes on 'em jest like other folks,
-and when you see him walk the worst you'd think: he's got a couple of
-corns."
-
-"Much obliged, Saginaw," said Connie, with the utmost gravity, as he
-arose and made ready for bed, "I'll sure remember that. Anyhow you don't
-need to worry about any solitary confinement in the place where the deer
-hunters go." And long after he was supposed to be asleep, the boy
-grinned to himself at the sounds of suppressed chuckling that came from
-Saginaw's bunk.
-
-Next morning Connie helped Frenchy pack in the deer, and when the
-teamster had returned to his work, the boy took a stroll about camp.
-"Let's see," he mused, "they're going to soak the straw inside the
-stable with oil and set fire to it on the inside, and they'll do it with
-Frenchy's lantern so everyone will think he forgot it and it got tipped
-over by accident. Then, before the fire is discovered they'll lock the
-stable and jam the lock so the men can't get in to fight it." The boy's
-teeth gritted savagely. "And there are sixteen horses in that stable!"
-he cried. "The dirty hounds! A west wind would sweep the flames against
-the oat house, then the men's camp, and the cook's camp and storehouse.
-They sure do figure on a clean sweep of this camp. But, what I can't see
-is how that is going to put any one in terror of the I. W. W., if they
-think Frenchy caused the fire accidentally. Dan McKeever says all crooks
-are fools--and he's right." He went to the office and sat for a long
-time at his pine desk. From his turkey he extracted the Service revolver
-that he had been allowed to keep in memory of his year with the Mounted.
-"I can take this," he muttered, as he affectionately twirled the
-smoothly running cylinder with his thumb, "and Saginaw can take the
-rifle, and we can nail 'em as they come out of the woods with the
-coal-oil can. The trouble is, we wouldn't have anything on them except
-maybe the theft of a little coal-oil. I know what they intend to do, but
-I can't prove it--there's four of them and only one of me and no
-evidence to back me up. On the other hand, if we let them start the
-fire, it might be too late to put it out." His eyes rested on the can
-that contained the supply of oil for the office. It was an exact
-duplicate of the one beneath the windfall. He jumped to his feet and
-crossing to the window carefully scanned the clearing. No one was in
-sight, and the boy passed out the door and slipped silently into the
-thick woods. When he returned the crew was crowding into the men's camp
-to wash up for supper. The wind had risen, and as Connie's gaze centred
-upon the lashing pine tops, he smiled grimly,--it was blowing stiffly
-from the west.
-
-After supper Saginaw Ed listened with bulging eyes to what the boy had
-to say. When he was through the man eyed him critically:
-
-"Listen to me, kid. Nonsense is nonsense, an' business is business. I
-don't want no truck with a man that ain't got some nonsense about him
-somewheres--an' I don't want no truck with one that mixes up nonsense
-an' serious business. Yer only a kid, an' mebbe you ain't grabbed that
-yet. But I want to tell you right here an' now, fer yer own good: If
-this here yarn is some gag you've rigged up to git even with me fer last
-night, it's a mighty bad one. A joke is a joke only so long as it don't
-harm no one----"
-
-"Every word I've told you is the truth," broke in the boy, hotly.
-
-"There, now, don't git excited, kid. I allowed it was, but they ain't no
-harm ever comes of makin' sure. It's eight o'clock now, s'pose we jest
-loaf over to the men's camp an' lay this here case before 'em."
-
-"No! No!" cried the boy: "Why, they--they might kill them!"
-
-"Well, I 'spect they would do somethin' of the kind. Kin you blame 'em
-when you stop to think of them horses locked in a blazin' stable, an'
-the deliberate waitin' 'til the wind was right to carry the fire to the
-men's camp? The men works hard, an' by eleven o'clock they're poundin'
-their ear mighty solid. S'pose they didn't wake up till too late--what
-then?"
-
-Connie shuddered. In his heart he felt, with Saginaw Ed, that any
-summary punishment the men chose to deal out to the plotters would be
-richly deserved. "I know," he replied: "But, mob punishment is never
-_right_, when a case can be reached by the law. It may look right, and
-lots of times it does hand out a sort of rough justice. But, here we are
-not out of reach of the law, and it will go lots farther in showing up
-the I. W. W. if we let the law take its course."
-
-Saginaw Ed seemed impressed: "That's right, kid, in the main. But there
-ain't no law that will fit this here special case. S'pose we go over an'
-arrest them hounds--what have we got on 'em! They swiped five gallons of
-coal-oil! That would git 'em mebbe thirty days in the county jail. The
-law can't reach a man fer what he's _goin'_ to do--an' I ain't a goin'
-over to the men's camp an' advise the boys to lay abed an' git roasted
-so's mebbe we kin git them I. W. W.'s hung. The play wouldn't be
-pop'lar."
-
-Connie grinned: "Well, not exactly," he agreed. "But, why not just sit
-here and let them go ahead with their scheme. I've got a good revolver,
-and you can take the rifle, and we can wait for 'em in the tote wagon
-that's just opposite the stable door. Then when they've soaked the
-straw, and tipped over Frenchy's lantern, and locked the door behind
-'em, and plugged the lock, we can cover 'em and gather 'em in."
-
-"Yeh, an' meanwhile the fire'll be workin' on that oil-soaked straw
-inside, an' where'll the horses be? With this here wind a blowin' they
-ain't men enough in the woods to put out a fire, an' the hull camp would
-go."
-
-Connie laughed, and leaning forward, spoke rapidly for several moments.
-When he had finished, Saginaw eyed him with undisguised approval: "Well,
-by jiminetty! Say, kid, you've got a head on you! That's jest the
-ticket! The courts of this State has jest begun to wake up to the fact
-that the I. W. W. is a real danger. A few cases, with the evidence as
-clean again' 'em as this, an' the stinkin' varmints 'll be huntin' their
-holes--you bet!"
-
-At nine-thirty Saginaw and Connie put out the office light, and with
-some clothing arranged dummies in their bunks, so that if any of the
-conspirators should seek to spy upon them through the window they would
-find nothing to arouse their suspicion. Then, fully armed, they crept
-out and concealed themselves in the tote wagon. An hour passed, and
-through the slits cut in the tarpaulin that covered them, they saw four
-shadowy forms steal silently toward them from the direction of the men's
-camp. Avoiding even the feeble light of the stars, they paused in the
-shadow of the oat house, at a point not thirty feet from the tote wagon.
-A whispered conversation ensued and two of the men hastily crossed the
-open and disappeared into the timber.
-
-"Stand still, can't ye!" hissed one of those who remained, and his
-companion ceased to pace nervously up and down in the shadow.
-
-"I'm scairt," faltered the other, whom the watchers identified as Steve.
-"I wisht I wasn't in on this."
-
-"Quit yer shiverin'! Yer makin' that lantern rattle. What they do to us,
-if they ketch us, hain't a patchin' to what we'll do to you if you back
-out." The man called Sam spat out his words in an angry whisper, and the
-two relapsed into silence.
-
-At the end of a half-hour the two men who had entered the timber
-appeared before the door of the stable, bearing the oil can between
-them. The others quickly joined them, there was a fumbling at the lock,
-the door swung open, and three of the men entered. The fourth stood
-ready with the heavy padlock in his hand. A few moments of silence
-followed, and then the sound of the empty can thrown to the floor. A
-feeble flicker of flame dimly lighted the interior, and the three men
-who had entered rushed out into the night. The heavy door closed, the
-padlock snapped shut and a wooden plug was driven into the key hole.
-
-"_Hands up!_" The words roared from the lips of Saginaw Ed, as he and
-Connie leaped to the ground and confronted the four at a distance of ten
-yards. For one terrified instant the men stared at the guns in their
-captors hands, and then four pairs of hands flew skyward.
-
-"Face the wall, an' keep a reachin'," commanded Saginaw, "an' if any one
-of you goes to start somethin' they'll be wolf-bait in camp in about one
-second."
-
-A horse snorted nervously inside the stable and there was a stamping of
-iron shod feet.
-
-"Jest slip in an' fetch out Frenchy's lantern, kid, an' we'll git these
-birds locked up in the oat house, 'fore the men gits onto the racket."
-
-With a light crow-bar which the boy had brought for the purpose, he
-pryed the hasp and staple from the door, leaving the plugged lock for
-evidence. Entering the stable whose interior was feebly illumined by the
-sickly flare of the overturned lantern, he returned in time to hear the
-petty bickering of the prisoners.
-
-"It's your fault," whined Pierce, addressing the leader of the gang.
-"You figgered out this play--an' it hain't worked!"
-
-"It hain't neither my fault!" flashed the man. "Some one of you's
-blabbed, an' we're in a pretty fix, now."
-
-"'Twasn't me!" came in a chorus from the others.
-
-"But at that," sneered Sam, "if you'd a lit that oil, we'd a burnt up
-the camp anyhow."
-
-"I did light it!" screamed the leader, his face livid with rage. "I
-tipped over the lantern an' shoved it right under the straw."
-
-"That's right," grinned Connie, from the doorway, as he flashed the
-lantern upon the faces of the men. "And if you hadn't taken the trouble
-to soak the straw with water it would have burned, too."
-
-"Water! Whad' ye mean--water?"
-
-"I mean just this," answered the boy, eyeing the men with a glance of
-supreme contempt, "I sat out there beside that windfall last night when
-you hid your can of oil. I listened to all you had to say, and today I
-slipped over there and poured out the oil and filled the can with water.
-You I. W. W.'s are a fine outfit," he sneered: "If you had some brains,
-and nerve, and consciences, you might almost pass for _men!_"
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII
-
-THE PRISONERS
-
-
-"I wish't Hurley was here," said Saginaw Ed, as he and Connie returned
-to the boss's camp after locking the prisoners in the oat house. "The
-men's goin' to want to know what them four is locked up fer. If we don't
-tell 'em there'll be trouble. They don't like them birds none but, at
-that, they won't stand fer 'em bein' grabbed an' locked up without
-nothin' ag'in' 'em. An' on the other hand, if we do tell 'em there's
-goin' to be trouble. Like as not they'd overrule me an' you an' hunt up
-a handy tree an' take 'em out an' jiggle 'em on the down end of a tight
-one."
-
-"Couldn't we slip 'em down to the nearest jail and tell the men about it
-afterwards, or send for a constable or sheriff to come up here and get
-them?"
-
-Saginaw shook his head: "No. If me an' you was to take 'em down the
-camp would blow up in no time. When the men woke up an' found the boss,
-an' the clerk, an' three hands, an' the cookee missin', an' the lock
-pried offen the stable door, work would stop right there. There ain't
-nothin' like a myst'ry of some kind to bust up a crew of men. We
-couldn't wake no one else up to take 'em without we woke up the whole
-men's camp, an' they'd want to know what was the rookus. If we sent fer
-a constable it'd be two or three days 'fore he'd git here an' then it
-would be too late. This here thing's comin' to a head when them
-teamsters goes fer the oats in the mornin', an' I've got to be there
-when they do."
-
-"I hate to see Steve mixed up in this. He's only a kid. I wonder if
-there isn't some way----"
-
-Saginaw Ed interrupted him roughly: "No. There ain't no way whatever.
-He's a bad aig or he wouldn't do what he done. You're only a kid, too,
-but I take notice you ain't throw'd in with no such outfit as them is."
-
-"I can't help thinking maybe he's getting a wrong start----"
-
-"He's got a wrong start, all right. But he got it quite a while
-ago--this here kind of business ain't no startin' job. They're all of a
-piece, kid. It's best we jest let the tail go with the hide."
-
-"What will Hurley do about it? If he agrees with us, won't the men
-overrule him?"
-
-"I don't know what he'll do--I only wish't he was here to do it. But, as
-fer as overrulin' him goes--" Saginaw paused and eyed Connie solemnly,
-"jest you make it a p'int to be in the same township sometime when a
-crew of men ondertakes to overrule Hurley. Believe me, they'd have the
-same kind of luck if they ondertook to overrule Mont Veesooverus when
-she'd started in to erup'."
-
-The door swung open and Hurley himself stood blinking in the lamplight.
-"This here's a purty time fer workin' men to be up!" he grinned. "Don't
-yous lads know it's half past twelve an' you'd orter be'n asleep four
-hours?"
-
-"I don't hear _you_ snorin' none," grinned Saginaw. "An' you kin bet me
-an' the kid sure is glad to see you."
-
-"Got through sooner'n I expected. Slue Foot had the crew all picked out.
-He'll bring 'em in from the Spur in the mornin'. Thought I'd jest hike
-on out an' see how things was gittin' on."
-
-"Oh, we're gittin' on, all right. Tote road's all cleared, Camp Two's
-clearin's all ready, an' the buildin's most done. An' besides that, four
-prisoners in the oat house, an' me an' the kid, here, losin' sleep over
-what to do with 'em."
-
-"Prisoners! What do you mean--prisoners?"
-
-"Them I. W. W.'s an' that cookee that throw'd in with 'em. They tried to
-burn the outfit--locked the hosses in the stable an' set fire to it,
-after waitin' 'til the wind was so it would spread over the hull camp."
-
-Hurley reached for a peavy that stood in the corner behind the door. "Ye
-say they burn't thim harses?" he rasped, in the brogue that always
-accompanied moments of anger or excitement.
-
-"No they didn't, but they would of an' it hadn't be'n fer the kid, here.
-He outguessed 'em, an' filled their coal-oil can with water, an' then we
-let 'em go ahead an' put on the whole show so we'd have 'em with the
-goods."
-
-The big boss leaned upon his peavy and regarded Connie thoughtfully. "As
-long as I've got a camp, kid, you've got a job." He bit off a huge chew
-of tobacco and returned the plug to his pocket, after which he began
-deliberately to roll up his shirt sleeves. He spat upon the palms of his
-hands, and as he gripped the peavy the muscles of his huge forearm stood
-out like steel cables. "Jist toss me th' key to th' oat house," he said
-in a voice that rumbled deep in his throat.
-
-"Wait!" Connie's hand was upon the boss's arm. "Sit down a minute and
-let's talk it over----"
-
-"Sure, boss," seconded Saginaw. "Let's have a powwow. If you go out
-there an' git to workin' on them hounds with that there peavy you're
-liable to git excited an' tap 'em a little harder'n what you intended
-to, an' then----"
-
-Hurley interrupted with a growl and the two saw that his little eyes
-blazed. "Oi ain't got the strength to hit 'em har-rder thin Oi intind
-to! An-ny one that 'ud thry to bur-rn up harses--let alone min slaypin'
-in their bunks, they can't no man livin' hit 'em har-rd enough wid
-an-nything that's made."
-
-"I know," agreed Saginaw. "They ain't nothin' you could do to 'em that
-they wouldn't still have some a-comin'. But the idee is this: Bein'
-misclassed as humans, them I. W. W.'s is felonious to kill. Chances is,
-the grand jury would turn you loose when they'd heard the facts, but
-the grand jury don't set 'til spring, an' meantime, where'd you be? An'
-where'd this camp be? Your contract calls fer gittin' out logs, an'
-don't stipulate none whatever about spatterin' up the oat house with I.
-W. W.'s. I don't like to spoil a man's fun, but when a mere frolic, that
-way, interferes with the work, as good a man as you be is a-goin' to put
-it off a spell. You know, an' I know, there's more than gittin' out logs
-to this winter's work."
-
-Saginaw's words evidently carried weight with Hurley. The muscles of the
-mighty arms relaxed and the angry gleam faded from his eyes. Also, the
-brogue was gone from his voice; nevertheless, his tone was ponderously
-sarcastic as he asked: "An' what is it you'd have me to do, seein' ye're
-so free with yer advice--pay 'em overtime fer the night work they done
-tryin' to burn up my camp?"
-
-Saginaw grinned: "The kid's got it doped out about right. He figgers
-that it'll show 'em up better if we let the courts handle the case an'
-convict 'em regular. With what we've got on 'em they ain't no chanct but
-what they'll get convicted, all right."
-
-"You see," broke in Connie, "the I. W. W.'s are a law-defying
-organization. The only way to bring them to time is to let the law do
-it. As soon as _all_ the I. W. W.'s see that the law is stronger than
-they are, and that their lawless acts are sure to be punished, there
-won't be any more I. W. W.'s. The law can't teach them this unless it
-has the chance. Of course, if the law had had the chance and had fallen
-down on the job because the men behind it were cowardly, it would be
-time enough to think about other ways. But, you told me yourself that
-Minnesota was beginning to give 'em what's coming to 'em, and she'll
-never get a better chance to hand 'em a jolt than this is, because we've
-got 'em with the goods. Now, if we'd go to work and let the men at 'em,
-or if you'd wade into 'em yourself we wouldn't be smashing at the I. W.
-W.'s, but only at these three men. When you stop to think of it, you
-can't teach an outfit to respect the law when you go ahead and break the
-law in teaching 'em."
-
-Hurley seemed much impressed. "That stands to reason," he agreed.
-"You're right, kid, an' so's Saginaw. I know Judge McGivern--used to go
-to school with him way back--he ain't much as fer as size goes but
-believe me he ain't afraid to hand these birds a wallop that'll keep 'em
-peekin' out between black ones fer many a day to come. I'll take 'em
-down myself, an' then I'll slip around an' have a talk with Mac." Hurley
-tossed the peavy into its corner and proceeded to unlace his boots.
-
-"I kind of hate to see Steve go along with that bunch. He ain't a
-regular I. W. W., and----"
-
-The boss looked up in surprise as a heavy boot thudded upon the floor.
-"What d'ye mean--hate to see?" he asked.
-
-"Why, he might turn out all right, if we kept him on the job and kind of
-looked after him."
-
-The boss snorted contemptuously. "Huh! He done you dirt onct didn't he?"
-
-"Yes, but----"
-
-"He throw'd in with these here ornery scum that ain't neither men, fish,
-nor potatoes, didn't he?"
-
-"Yes, but----"
-
-"'Yes' is all right--an' they ain't no 'buts' about it. I had him last
-winter, an' he wasn't no 'count. I thought they might be some good in
-him so I hired him ag'in this fall to give him another chanct, but he's
-rotten-hearted an' twisty-grained, an' from root to top-branch they
-ain't the worth of a lath in his hide. He's a natural-borned crook. If
-it was only hisself I wouldn't mind it, but a crook is dangerous to
-other folks--not to hisself. It ain't right to leave him loose." The
-other boot thudded upon the floor and Hurley leaned back in his chair,
-stretched out his legs and regarded the toes of his woollen socks. "I've
-often thought," he continued, after a moment of silence, "that men is
-oncommon like timber. There's the select, straight-grained, sound stuff,
-an' all the grades down through the culls 'til you come to the dozy,
-crooked, rotten-hearted stuff that ain't even fit to burn. There's sound
-stuff that's rough-barked an' ugly; an' there's rotten-hearted stuff
-that looks good from the outside. There's some timber an' some men
-that's built to take on a high polish--don't know as I kin git it acrost
-to you jest like I mean--but bankers and pianos is like that. Then
-there's the stuff that's equal as sound an' true but it wouldn't
-never take no polish on account its bein' rough-grained an'
-tough-fibred--that's the kind that's picked to carry on the world's
-heavy work--the kind that goes into bridges an' ships, an' the frames
-of buildin's. It's the backbone, you might say, of civilization. It
-ain't purty, but its work ain't purty neither--it jest does what it's
-picked to do.
-
-"It's cur'us how fer you kin carry it on if yer a mind to. There's some
-good timber an' some good men that's started bad but ain't got there
-yet. The bad habits men take on is like surface rot, an' weather checks,
-an' bug stings--take that stuff an' put it through the mill an' rip it
-an' plane it down to itself, an' it's as good as the best--sometimes.
-The danger to that kind is not puttin' it through the mill quick enough,
-an' the rot strikes through to the heart.
-
-"There's a lot of timber that there ain't much expected of--an' a lot of
-humans, too. They're the stuff that works up into rough boards, an' cull
-stuff, an' lath, an' pulp wood, an' cordwood an' the like of that--an'
-so it goes, folks an' timber runnin' about alike.
-
-"It takes experience an' judgment to sort timber, jest like it takes
-experience an' judgment to pick men. But no matter how much experience
-an' judgment he's got, as long as _man's_ got the sortin' to do,
-mistakes will be made. Then, a long time afterwards, somewheres
-somethin' goes wrong. They can't no one account fer it, nor explain
-it--but the Big Inspector--he knows."
-
-Hurley ceased speaking, and Connie, who had followed every word, broke
-in: "Couldn't we keep Steve here and--put him through the mill?"
-
-The boss shook his head: "No--we didn't catch him young enough. I'm
-responsible, in a way, fer the men in this camp. This here runt has
-showed he don't care what he does--s'pose he took a notion to slip
-somethin' into the grub--what then? Keepin' him in this camp would be
-like if I seen a rattlesnake in the bunk house an' walked off an' left
-it there."
-
-Connie realized that any further effort on his part to save Steve from
-sharing the richly deserved fate of the I. W. W.'s would be useless. The
-three turned in and it seemed to the boy that he had barely closed his
-eyes when he was awakened by the sounds of someone moving about the
-room. Hurley and Saginaw Ed were pulling on their clothes as the boy
-tumbled out of bed.
-
-"You don't need to git up yet, kid. Me an' Saginaw's goin' to slip out
-an' see that the teamsters gits their oats without lettin' no I. W. W.'s
-trickle out the door. Better pound yer ear fer an hour yet, cause
-you're goin' to be busier'n a pet coon checkin' in Slue Foot's supplies,
-an' gittin' his men down on the pay roll."
-
-As Connie entered the cook's camp for breakfast he noticed an
-undercurrent of unrest and suppressed excitement among the men who stood
-about in small groups and engaged in low-voiced conversation. Hurley and
-Saginaw Ed were already seated, and, as the men filed silently in, many
-a sidewise glance was slanted toward the big boss.
-
-When all were in their places Hurley rose from his chair. "We've got
-three I. W. W.'s an' the cookee locked up in the oat house," he
-announced bluntly. "An' after breakfast me an' Frenchy is goin' to take
-'em down to jail." There was a stir among the men, and Hurley paused,
-but no one ventured a comment. "They tried to burn the stable last
-night, but the kid, here, outguessed 'em, an' him an' Saginaw gathered
-'em in."
-
-"Last night!" cried a big sawyer, seated half-way down the table. "If
-they'd a-burnt the stable last night the whole camp would of gone! Let
-us boys take 'em off yer hands, boss, an' save you a trip to town."
-
-The idea gained instant approval among the men, and from all parts of
-the room voices were raised in assent.
-
-"Over in Westconsin we----"
-
-Hurley interrupted the speaker with a grin: "Yeh, an' if we was over in
-Westconsin I'd say go to it! But Minnesota's woke up to these here
-varmints--an' it's up to us to give her a chanct to show these here
-other States how to do it. You boys all know Judge McGivern--most of you
-helped elect him. Give him the chanct to hand the I. W. W.'s a wallop in
-the name of the State of Minnesota! If the State don't grab these birds,
-they'll grab the State. Look at North Dakota! It ain't a State no
-more--it's a Non-partisan League! Do you boys want to see Minnesota an
-I. W. W. Lodge?"
-
-As Hurley roared out the words his huge fist banged the table with a
-force that set the heavy porcelain dishes a-clatter.
-
-"No! No!" cried a chorus of voices from all sides. "The boss is right!
-Let the State handle 'em!" The men swung unanimously to Hurley and the
-boss sat down amid roars of approval.
-
-And so it was that shortly after breakfast Frenchy cracked his whip with
-a great flourish and four very dejected-looking prisoners started down
-the tote road securely roped to the rear of the tote wagon, at the end
-gate of which sat Hurley, rifle in hand and legs a-dangle as he puffed
-contentedly at his short black pipe.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII
-
-THE BOSS OF CAMP TWO
-
-
-Slue Foot Magee, who was to boss Camp Two, was a man of ambling gait and
-a chronic grumble. He arrived with the vanguard of the new crew a
-half-hour before dinner time, grumbled because grub wasn't ready,
-growled when he learned that the buildings at Camp Two were not entirely
-completed, and fumed because Hurley had told him to leave fifteen of his
-fifty men at Camp One.
-
-"What's the use of pickin' out a crew an' then scatterin' 'em all over
-the woods?" he demanded querulously of Connie, as they stood in the door
-of the boss's camp while the men washed up for dinner. "If Hurley wants
-thirty-five men in Camp Two an' fifty in Camp One why don't he send Camp
-One's crew up to Two an' leave me have Camp One?"
-
-"I don't know," answered the boy, and refrained from mentioning that he
-was mighty glad Hurley had not ordered it so.
-
-Slue Foot slanted him a keen glance. "Be you the kid Hurley was tellin'
-nailed them I. W. W.'s that he was fetchin' out of the woods when we
-come in this mornin'?"
-
-Connie nodded: "Yes, Saginaw Ed and I caught 'em."
-
-"Purty smart kid, hain't you? What's Hurley payin' you?"
-
-"Forty dollars a month."
-
-"An' no rake-off on the wanagan. There's plenty room in the woods to use
-brains--same as anywheres else." Slue Foot turned at the sound of the
-dinner gong. "Let's go eat while there's some left. When we come back
-I'll give you the names."
-
-During the meal Connie furtively studied the new boss. He was fully as
-large as Hurley, and slovenly in movement and appearance. His restless
-eyes darted swift glances here, there, and everywhere, and never a
-glance but registered something of disapproval. But it was the man's
-words that most interested the boy. Why had he asked what Hurley was
-paying him? And what did he mean by his observation that there was no
-rake-off on the wanagan? Also, there was his reference to the fact that
-in the woods there was plenty of room for brains. That might mean
-anything or nothing.
-
-"At any rate," thought the boy, as he attacked his food, "you're going
-to be a pretty good man to throw in with--for a while."
-
-Presently the man pushed back his bench and arose: "If you ever git that
-holler in under yer ribs filled up we'll go over an' I'll give you the
-names of the men that stays here an' the ones that goes on with me."
-
-"'Lead on, MacDuff,'" grinned Connie, misquoting a line from a play
-Waseche Bill had taken him to see in Fairbanks.
-
-"Magee's my name," corrected the man gruffly, and led the way to the
-office.
-
-It was only after much deliberation and growling that Slue Foot finally
-succeeded in rearranging his crew, but at last the task was completed
-and Connie leaned back in his chair.
-
-"So you think there ain't going to be any rake-off on the wanagan?" he
-asked, as the man sat scowling at his list of names. Slue Foot glanced
-up quickly and the boy met the glance with a wink: "I thought maybe----"
-
-"It don't make no difference what you thought mebbe!" the man
-interrupted. "If you know'd Hurley like I do you'd know a whole lot
-better'n to try it." Connie looked disappointed and the boss eyed him
-intently.
-
-"They's other ways of killin' a cat without you choke him to death on
-butter," he observed drily, and lapsed into silence while the restless
-gimlet eyes seemed to bore into the boy's very thoughts.
-
-Suddenly the man brought his fist down with a bang upon the top of the
-pine desk: "Why should Hurley be drawin' down his big money, an' me an'
-you our seventy-five an' forty a month?" he demanded.
-
-"Well, he's the boss, and they say he can get out the logs."
-
-"I'm a boss, too! An' I kin git out the logs!" he roared. "I was bossin'
-camps when Hurley was swampin'." Again he paused and regarded the boy
-shrewdly. "Mind you, I hain't sayin' Hurley hain't a good logger, 'cause
-he is. But jest between me and you there's a hull lot about this here
-timber game that he hain't hep to. Any one kin draw down wages workin'
-in the woods--but if you want to make a real stake out of the game
-you've got to learn how to play both ends ag'in' the middle. An' that's
-where the brains comes in."
-
-"That's why I thought----"
-
-"--you could soak it to 'em on the wanagan an' shove the rake-off in
-your pocket," finished the man. "Well, you'd better fergit it! Some
-bosses would stand fer it, but not Hurley. He'd tumble to yer game in a
-minute, an' you'd be hikin' down the tote road with yer turkey on yer
-back a-huntin' a new job."
-
-"Do you mean there's nothing in it for me but my forty dollars a month?"
-asked Connie, with apparent disgust.
-
-"M-m-m-m, well, that depends," muttered Slue Foot. "Be you goin' to keep
-the log book, or Hurley?"
-
-"I am. He told me the other day he'd show me about that later."
-
-"They'll be a little somethin', mebbe, in shadin' the cut when the time
-comes--nothin' big, but enough to double our wages. Wait 'til the crew
-gits strung out an' layin' 'em down an' we'll fix that up."
-
-"Will the scaler throw in with us?" ventured the boy.
-
-"What! Lon Camden! Not on yer life, he won't! Hurley picked him, an' he
-picked Saginaw Ed, too. What you an' me do we got to do alone."
-
-Connie smiled: "Yes, but he picked you, and he picked me, too."
-
-"He did," agreed the other, with a leer. "I don't know nawthin' about
-why he picked you, but he give me a job 'cause he thinks I done him a
-good turn onct. Over in Idaho, it was, an' we was gittin' out logs on
-the Fieldin' slope. Old Man Fieldin' had a contrac' which if he didn't
-fill it by a certain day, he'd lose it, an' the Donahue crowd that was
-operatin' further down would deliver their logs an' take over the
-contrac'. That's when I got it in fer Hurley. Him an' me was working fer
-Fieldin' an' he made Hurley boss of a camp he'd ort to give to me.
-
-"The Donahue crowd worked politics an' got holt of the water rights on
-Elk Creek, an' Fieldin' couldn't float his logs. It looked like it was
-good-night fer Fieldin' an' his contrac' but Hurley grabbed all the men
-he could git holt of an' started buildin' a flume. Old Man Fieldin' said
-it couldn't be done, but fer Hurley to go ahead, 'cause he was ruint
-anyhow. So Hurley worked us night and day, an' by gosh, he built the
-flume an' got his logs a-runnin'!
-
-"When the flume was up the Donahues seen they was beat, so they come to
-me an' offered me a bunch of coin if I'd blow it up. It was resky 'cause
-Hurley was expectin' some such play, an' he had it guarded. But I got on
-guardin' nights an' I planted the dynamite and got the wires strung, an'
-it was all set. Then I went an' overplayed my hand. I thought I seen the
-chanct to git even with Hurley, as well as Old Man Fieldin', an' make me
-a nice little stake besides. So I tips it off to Hurley that I seen a
-fellow sneakin' around suspicious an' he'd better take the shift where
-I'd be'n, hisself. You see, I made it up with the Donahues to send three
-of their men over to explode the shot so I'd have a alibi, an' I
-figgered that Hurley'd run onto 'em, an' they'd give him an' awful
-lickin'." The man paused and crammed tobacco into his pipe.
-
-"And did he?" asked Connie, eagerly
-
-"Naw, he didn't he!" growled the man. "He run onto 'em all right--an'
-when the rookus was over the hull three of 'em was took to the
-horspital. When it comes to mixin' it up, Hurley, he's there. He found
-the dynamite, too, an' after that the guards was so thick along that
-flume that one couldn't do nawthin' without the next ones could see what
-he was up to.
-
-"Fieldin's logs was delivered on time an' the old man handed Hurley a
-check fer twenty-five hundred dollars over an' above his wages. Hurley
-slipped me five hundred fer tellin' him--but I'd of got five thousan' if
-I'd of blow'd up the flume. I had to skip the country 'fore them three
-got out of the horspital, an' I've swore to git even with Hurley ever
-since--an' I'll do it too. One more winter like last winter, an' they
-won't no outfit have him fer a boss."
-
-It was with difficulty Connie refrained from asking what had happened
-last winter but he was afraid of arousing the man's suspicion by
-becoming too inquisitive, so he frowned: "That's all right as far as
-your getting even with Hurley, but it don't get me anything."
-
-Slue Foot leaned forward in his chair: "I see you've got yer eye on the
-main chanct, an' that shows you've got somethin' in your noodle. Folks
-can talk all they want to, but the only thing that's any good is money.
-Them that's got it is all right, an' them that hain't got it is nowhere.
-Take Hurley, he's got the chanct to make his everlastin' stake right
-here, an' he's passin' it up. The owner of this here trac' lives up in
-Alaska or somewheres, an' he hain't a loggin' man nohow--an' here Hurley
-would set and let him git rich--offen Hurley's work, mind you--an' all
-Hurley gits out of it is his wages. An' if you throw in with him you'll
-go out in the spring with yer forty dollars a month minus yer wanagan
-tab."
-
-"Guess that's right," agreed the boy. "I'd like to make a lot of money,
-but it looks like there's nothin' doing in this camp."
-
-"Oh, I don't know," replied the man. "I'm a-goin' to git mine, an' the
-way things is, I kin use a party about your size that kin keep his eyes
-open and his mouth shet. Looks like, from here, they might be
-considerable in it fer you, long about spring." He paused and glanced
-about the office. "You sleep in here don't you?" Connie nodded, and
-Slue Foot seemed satisfied, "I kin use you, 'cause you're right here on
-the job where you kin keep tab on the boss, an' Saginaw, an' Lon
-Camden." The man paused abruptly and peered through the window.
-
-"What's the game?" asked Connie boldly. "I can't do any good going it
-blind."
-
-The man silenced him with a gesture: "Shet up! Here comes Saginaw.
-That'll keep 'til later. Meanwhile, it don't pay fer me an' you to seem
-none too friendly. When any one's around I'll kick an' growl about the
-books and you sass me back." He rose from his chair and was stamping
-about the room when Saginaw entered.
-
-"Here it's took a good hour to git them names down that any one with
-half sense had ort to got down in fifteen minutes! If you can't check in
-them supplies no quicker'n what you kin write down names, the grub will
-rot before we git it onloaded. Come on, we'll go up to the camp an' git
-at it."
-
-The man turned to greet the newcomer. "Hello Saginaw! I hear you're a
-boss now. Well, good luck to you. How's the new camp, 'bout ready?"
-
-"Yes, a couple of days will finish her up. Yer storehouse an' men's
-camp, an' cook's camp is done, so you can go ahead an' move in."
-
-Slue Foot scowled: "I seen Hurley comin' out an' he says I should leave
-you fifteen men out of my crew, so I done it. Seems funny he'd give a
-green boss the biggest crew, but he's got you right here where he kin
-keep his eye on you, so I s'pose he knows what he's doin'."
-
-"I 'spect he does," agreed Saginaw. "When you git to camp send them men
-back with mine."
-
-Slue Foot nodded. "Well come on, kid," he ordered, gruffly. "We'll go up
-on the tote wagon."
-
-Connie picked up his book and followed, and as he went out the door he
-turned to see Saginaw regarding him curiously.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX
-
-SAGINAW ED IN THE TOILS
-
-
-Connie hoped that during the ride to Camp Two Slue Foot would further
-enlighten him concerning his various schemes for defrauding his
-employers, but the man sat silent, eyeing the tall pines that flanked
-the roadway on either side.
-
-"Pretty good timber, isn't it?" ventured the boy, after a time.
-
-The boss nodded: "They hain't much of them kind left. If I owned this
-trac' an' could afford to pay taxes I'd never lay down a stick of it fer
-ten year--mebbe twenty."
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"Why not! 'Cause it'll be worth ten dollars where it's worth a dollar
-now--that's why. Pine's a-goin' up every year, an' they've cut the best
-of it everywheres except here an' there a strip that fer one reason an'
-another they couldn't git holt of."
-
-"The Syndicate's cutting theirs now, and surely they can afford to pay
-taxes."
-
-Slue Foot grinned: "They wouldn't be cuttin' their white pine along
-Dogfish if this trac' wasn't bein' cut."
-
-"What's that got to do with it?"
-
-"Mebbe if you kind of stick around, like I told you, you'll see. I'm one
-of these here hairpins that never tells no one nawthin' about anythin'
-'til the time comes--see?"
-
-"You're all right, Slue Foot," laughed the boy. "I guess I'll stick
-around."
-
-"It's a good thing fer you you got sense enough to know who to tie to.
-No one never made nawthin' workin' fer wages--an' no one ever will."
-
-As they drew into Camp Two's clearing Slue Foot cocked a weatherwise eye
-skyward. "Shouldn't wonder an' the snow'll be comin' tonight or
-tomorrow--them clouds looks like it. Come on, le's git at them supplies.
-They's two wagons in a'ready an' two more comin' an' we want to git 'em
-onloaded by night."
-
-Slue Foot called a dozen men to help with the unloading and stowing,
-and for the rest of the afternoon Connie had his hands full checking off
-the goods as they were carried past him at the door. At last the task
-was completed and after supper the boy struck out for Camp One. As he
-plodded through the jet blackness of the tote road his mind was busy
-with the problem that confronted him. What should he do? Manifestly the
-easiest course would be to go straight to Hurley and tell him just what
-Slue Foot had told him, and let the boss deal with him as he saw fit.
-But, in that case Hurley would, in all probability, fly off the handle
-and either discharge Slue Foot or "beat him up" or both. In which event
-the man would go unpunished for last winter's work, whatever that had
-been, and worst of all, there would be absolutely no evidence against
-the Syndicate. And he had no intention of pocketing last year's loss
-without at least an attempt to recover it and bring its perpetrators to
-justice.
-
-From what he had seen of Hurley, and what Saginaw and Slue Foot had told
-him, the boy was confident that the big boss was square and honest as
-the day is long--but there was Mike Gillum, himself an honest man and a
-friend of Waseche, who had reported that Hurley was in the pay of the
-Syndicate; and Connie knew that men like Mike Gillum did not lie about
-other men, nor would they make an open accusation unless reasonably sure
-of their ground. Therefore there was a bare possibility that, despite
-all evidence to the contrary, Hurley, unknown to either Slue Foot or
-Saginaw, was playing into the hand of the Syndicate.
-
-"I wonder what's the matter with Saginaw," muttered the boy as he
-stumbled on through the darkness. "He looked at me kind of funny when we
-left the office. As if he knows Slue Foot is crooked, and thinks I have
-thrown in with him." His fists clenched and his lips drew into a hard,
-straight line. "I'll get to the bottom of it if it takes all winter!" he
-gritted. "And when I do, someone is going to squirm." Something prickled
-sharply against his cheek and he glanced upward. He could see nothing in
-the inky blackness, but the prickling sensation was repeated and he knew
-that it was snowing. The wind rose and the snow fell faster. By the time
-he reached the clearing it whitened the ground. The little office was
-dark as he let himself in. The sound of heavy breathing told him that
-Saginaw was already in bed, and, without lighting the lamp, he undressed
-and crawled between his blankets.
-
-When Connie awoke the following morning the fire was burning brightly in
-the stove and Saginaw stood staring out through the little window that
-showed a translucent grey square against the dark log wall. He turned at
-the sound of the boy's feet upon the floor. "Snow's held off fer a long
-time this year, but when she come she come a-plenty," he observed.
-
-"Still snowing?" asked the boy, as he wriggled into his clothing. "It
-started last night while I was coming down from Camp Two."
-
-"Yeh, it's still snowin.' Foot deep a'ready an' comin' down in fine
-flakes an' slantin' like she's a-goin' to keep on snowin'!"
-
-"Are you going to begin laying 'em down today?"
-
-Saginaw shook his head: "No. I'm a-goin' to set 'em overhaulin' the
-sleds, an' the sprinkler, an' the drays, an' gittin' the skidways in
-shape, an' breakin' out the road. It's cold enough fer to make a good
-bottom an' things ort to go a-whoopin' when this snow lets up."
-
-Connie snickered. "I bet Slue Foot's growling this morning, with no roof
-on his office and blacksmith shop, and his stable and oat house only
-about half chinked."
-
-"He'd growl if his camp was 'lectric lit an' steam het. I'm ready fer
-breakfast, if the cook's saved us some. You go on over an' I'll be 'long
-when I git the men strung out." Saginaw filled the stove with chunks and
-together they left the office, the older man heading for the men's camp,
-while Connie made directly for the cook's camp. As the boy lowered his
-head to the sting of the sweeping snow and plodded across the clearing,
-a feeling of great loneliness came over him, for he knew that there
-lurked in the man's mind a feeling of distrust--a feeling that he had
-studiously attempted to conceal. Nothing in the spoken words revealed
-this distrust, but the boy was quick to note that the voice lacked
-something of the hearty comradery that had grown up between them.
-
-"This is almost like Alaska," Connie muttered, as he breathed deeply of
-the clean, cold air. "I wish I was in Ten Bow right now--with Waseche
-Bill, and MacDougall, and Dutch Henry and the rest of 'em--or else over
-on the Yukon with Big Dan McKeever, and Rickey." The boy's fists
-clenched within his mittens, as was their habit when he faced a
-difficult situation. "If it wasn't that Waseche is depending on me to
-straighten out this mess, I'd strike out for Ten Bow today. But I've
-just naturally got to see it through--and I've got to go it alone, too.
-If I should let Saginaw in, and it should turn out that Hurley is
-crooked, my chance of nailing him would be shot, because Saginaw and
-Hurley are one, two, three.
-
-"The first thing I better do," he decided, as he stamped the snow from
-his boots before the door of the cook's camp, "is to slip up and see
-Mike Gillum and find out how he knows Hurley is in the pay of the
-Syndicate."
-
-During the breakfast the boy was unusually silent and when the meal was
-finished he returned directly to the office, and stood for a long time
-staring out into the whirling white smother. As he turned to his desk
-his eye encountered Hurley's snow-shoes hanging from their peg on the
-opposite wall. "It's only ten miles to Willow River," he muttered, "and
-I've just got to see Mike Gillum."
-
-A moment later he stepped through the door, fastened on the snow-shoes
-and, hastening across the clearing, plunged into the timber.
-
-It was nearly noon when Saginaw Ed returned to the office and found it
-empty. Almost instantly he noticed that the boss's snow-shoes were
-missing and he grinned: "Kid's out practising on the rackets, I guess."
-Then he stepped to the door. The snow had continued to fall
-steadily--fine, wind-driven flakes that pile up slowly. The trail was
-very faint, and as the man's eye followed it across the clearing his
-brows drew into a puzzled frown. "That don't look like no practice
-trail," he muttered. "No, sir! They ain't no greener ever yet started
-off like that." He pinched his chin between his thumb and forefinger and
-scowled at the trail. "One of two things: Either the kid ain't the
-greener he lets on to be, or else someone else has hiked off on the
-boss's snow-shoes. An' either which way, it's up to me to find out."
-Crossing swiftly to the cook shack he returned a few minutes later, the
-pockets of his mackinaw bulging with lunch, and drawing his own
-snow-shoes from beneath his bunk, struck out upon the fast dimming
-trail.
-
-"I mistrust Slue Foot, an' I didn't like the way he started to bawl out
-the kid yeste'day. It seemed kind of like it wasn't straight goods. He's
-a beefer an' a growler, all right, but somehow, this time it seemed as
-if it was kind of piled on fer my special benefit."
-
-In the timber, sheltered from the sweep of the wind, the track had not
-drifted full, but threaded the woods in a broad, trough-like depression
-that the woodsman easily followed. Mile after mile it held to the north,
-dipping into deep ravines, skirting thick windfalls, and crossing steep
-ridges. As the trail lengthened the man's face hardened. "Whoever's
-a-hikin' ahead of me ain't no greener an' he ain't walkin' fer fun,
-neither. He's travellin' as fast as I be, an' he knows where he's
-a-goin', too." He paused at the top of a high ridge and smote a heavily
-mittened palm with a mittened fist. "So that's the way of it, eh? I
-heard how the Syndicate was runnin' a big camp on Willow River--an' this
-here's the Willow River divide. They ain't only one answer, the kid, or
-whoever it is I'm a-follerin', has be'n put in here by the Syndicate to
-keep cases on Hurley's camps--either that, or Slue Foot's in with 'em,
-an' is usin' the kid fer a go-between. They're pretty smart, all right,
-headin' way up to this here Willow River camp. They figgered that no one
-wouldn't pay no 'tention to a trail headin' north, while if it led over
-to the Syndicate camp on Dogfish someone would spot it in a minute. An'
-with it snowin' like this, they figgered the trail would drift full, or
-else look so old no one would bother about it. They ain't only one thing
-to do, an' that's to go ahead an' find out. What a man knows is worth a
-heap more'n what he can guess. They's a-goin' to be some big surprises
-on Dogfish 'fore this winter's over, an' some folks is a-goin' to wish
-they'd of be'n smarter--or stayed honester."
-
-Saginaw descended the slope and, still following the trail, walked
-steadily for an hour. Suddenly he paused to listen. Distinctly to his
-ears came the measured thud of pounded iron, punctuated at regular
-intervals by the metallic ring of a hammer upon an anvil. "It's the
-Syndicate's Willow River camp," he muttered, and advanced cautiously.
-Presently he gained the clearing and, skirting it, halted at the edge of
-a log road that reached back into the timber. The man noted that whoever
-made the trail had made no attempt to conceal his visit from the
-Syndicate crew, for the tracks struck into the road which led directly
-into the clearing. Not a soul was in sight and, hurriedly crossing the
-road, Saginaw continued to skirt the clearing until he arrived at a
-point directly opposite a small building that stood by itself midway
-between the men's camp and the stable. "That had ort to be the office,"
-he said as he studied the lay of the camp and the conformation of the
-ground. Several large piles of tops lay between the edge of the clearing
-and the small building, against the back of which had been placed a huge
-pile of firewood. Across the clearing upon the bank of the river a crew
-of men were engaged in levelling off the rollways, and other men were
-busy about the open door of the blacksmith shop, where the forge fire
-burned brightly. The storm had thinned to a scarcely perceptible
-downfall and the rising wind whipped the smoke from the stovepipe of the
-building. "I've got to find out who's in that office," he decided and,
-suiting the action to the word, moved swiftly from one pile of tops to
-another, until he gained the shelter of the woodpile.
-
-It is a very risky thing to peer into the window of a small room
-occupied by at least two people in broad daylight, and it was with the
-utmost caution that Saginaw removed his cap and applied his eye to the
-extreme corner of the pane. Seated facing each other, close beside the
-stove, were Connie and Mike Gillum. The boss's hand was upon the boy's
-knee and he was talking earnestly. At the sight Saginaw could scarce
-refrain from venting his anger in words. He had seen enough and, dodging
-quickly back, retraced his steps, and once more gained the shelter of
-the timber.
-
-"So that's yer game, is it, you sneakin' little spy? Takin' advantage of
-Hurley the minute his back's turned! You've got him fooled, all right.
-An' you had me fooled, too. You're a smart kid, but you ain't quite
-smart enough. You can't do no harm now we're onto yer game, an' 'fore
-them logs hits the water in the spring yer goin' to find out you ain't
-the only smart one in the timber--you an' Slue Foot, too."
-
-It was well past the middle of the afternoon when Saginaw took the back
-trail and struck out at a long swinging walk for the camp on Dogfish.
-The flash of anger, engendered by the sight of the boy in friendly
-conference with the boss of the Syndicate camp, gave way to keen
-disappointment as he tramped on and on through the timber. He had liked
-Connie from the first, and as the days went by his regard for the boy,
-whose brains and nerve had won the respect and admiration of the whole
-camp, grew. "I've a good mind to git him off to one side an' give him a
-good straight talk. He ain't like that Steve. Why, doggone it! I
-couldn't feel no worse about findin' out he's headed wrong, if he was my
-own boy. An' if he was my own boy, it would be my job to talk things
-over with him an' try to steer him straight, instead of layin' for to
-catch him in some crooked work an' send him over the road for it. By
-gum, I'll do it, too! An' I'll give it to him right straight, without no
-fancy trimmin's neither. Tonight'll be a good time when him an' I'll be
-alone."
-
-His cogitations had carried him to within a mile of Camp Two, which the
-trail carefully avoided, when suddenly, at the bottom of a deep ravine,
-a man stepped in front of him:
-
-"Hands up!" It was some seconds before Saginaw realized that he was
-staring straight into the muzzle of a rifle that the man held within six
-inches of his nose. Two other men stepped from behind trees and joined
-the leader.
-
-"Makes a difference which end of the gun yer at when ye hear them words,
-don't it?" sneered the man, and in the deep twilight of the thick woods
-Saginaw recognized the men as the three I. W. W.'s that he and Connie
-had arrested in their attempt to burn the stable. Also he recognized the
-boss's rifle.
-
-"Where's Hurley?" he cried, as full realization of the situation forced
-itself upon him.
-
-"I said _'hands up'!_" reminded the man with the gun, "an' I meant it.
-An' if I wus you I'd put 'em up. I guess when we git through with ye
-ye'll think twict before ye lock folks up in a oat house to freeze to
-death all night--you an' that smart alec kid."
-
-"Where's Hurley?" repeated Saginaw, with arms upraised.
-
-The man laughed, coarsely: "Hurley, we fixed his clock fer him. An'
-we'll fix yourn, too. We'll learn ye to fool with the I. W. W. when it's
-a-goin' about its business. An' we'll learn everyone else, too. We're
-stronger 'n the law, an' stronger 'n the Government, an' when we git
-ready we'll show the bosses an' the capitalists where to git off at!"
-
-"You're a bunch of dirty crooks, an' thieves, an' murderers--an' you
-ain't got the brains to show nobody nawthin'."
-
-"Search him!" commanded the leader, his face livid with rage. "We'll
-show you somethin', 'fore we git through with you--jest like we showed
-Hurley. Come on, now, git a move on. We got to see a party an' git holt
-of some grub. 'Fore we git started, though, ye kin jest take off them
-snow-shoes, I kin use 'em myself, an' you kin see how it feels to waller
-through the snow like we be'n doin'." The transfer was soon
-accomplished, and marching Saginaw before them, the three headed off at
-a right angle from the trail.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER X
-
-CONNIE DOES SOME TRAILING
-
-
-Connie Morgan halted abruptly and stared down at the snow. At the point
-where, a couple of hours before, he had emerged into the tote road,
-another, fresher, snow-shoe track crossed the road and struck out upon
-his back trail. For some moments he studied the track, his trained eye
-taking every slightest detail. "Whoever it was followed my trail to
-here, and for some reason didn't want to follow it on into the clearing.
-So he kept on, and it wasn't long before he took the back trail." He
-bent closer, and when he once more stood erect his face was very grave.
-"It's Saginaw," he muttered. "I helped him restring that left racket."
-Swiftly the boy followed the tracks to the point where the man had
-struck into the clearing at the rear of the little office. "He followed
-me and found me talking to Mike Gillum."
-
-[Illustration: SWIFTLY THE BOY FOLLOWED THE TRACKS TO THE POINT WHERE
-THE MAN HAD STRUCK INTO THE CLEARING.]
-
-As Connie struck out on the back trail he smiled grimly: "Gee, I bet he
-thinks I'm a bad one. He knows the Syndicate put one over on Hurley last
-winter, and now he thinks I'm hand in glove with 'em. I would like to
-have run this thing down alone, but I guess I'll have to let Saginaw in
-on it now. Maybe he won't believe me, and maybe Hurley won't, and then
-I'll get fired! Anyhow, he broke a good trail for me," grinned the boy
-as he swung swiftly through the timber. Travelling light, he made rapid
-progress, and as he walked, his brain was busy trying to solve his
-riddle of the woods. Mike Gillum had told him that he had worked on
-several jobs with Hurley, that he was a good lumberman, that he could
-handle men, and get out the logs. Knowing this, he had recommended him
-to Waseche Bill, as foreman of his camp. Gillum said that by accident he
-had seen Hurley's name on the Syndicate pay roll and had asked one of
-the clerks in the office about it, and that the clerk had winked and
-told him that Hurley was well worth all the Syndicate paid him because
-he was boss of an independent outfit that was logging up on Dogfish. It
-was then that Gillum had written to Waseche Bill. He had known nothing
-of the latter's loss of last winter until Connie had told him at the
-time of their first meeting. Despite the man's statements, Connie could
-not bring himself to believe that Hurley was guilty. "There's a mistake
-somewhere," he muttered as he trudged on, "and I've got to find out
-where. I can't let Hurley in on it, because he's hot-headed and he'd
-jump in and spoil every chance we had of catching the real culprit, or,
-if he is mixed up in it, he'd have all the chance in the world to cover
-his tracks so I never could prove anything on him. But he isn't guilty!"
-This last was uttered aloud and with the emphasis of conviction. For the
-life of him the boy could not have given a good and sufficient reason
-for this conviction. Indeed, all reason was against it. But the
-conviction was there, and the reason for the conviction was there--even
-if the boy could not have told it--and it ran a great deal deeper than
-he knew.
-
-From the moment three years before, when he had landed, a forlorn and
-friendless little figure, upon the dock at Anvik, he had been thrown
-among men--men crude and rough as the land they lived in. His daily
-associates had been good men--and bad. He had known good men with
-deplorable weaknesses, and bad men with admirable virtues. In his
-association with these men of the lean, lone land the boy had
-unconsciously learned to take keen measure of men. And, having taken his
-measure, he accepted a man at his worth. The boy knew that Mike Gillum
-had not lied to him--that under no circumstances would he lie to injure
-another. But, despite the man's positive statement, Connie's confidence
-in Hurley remained unshaken. Hurley had assumed a definite place in his
-scheme of things, and it would take evidence much more tangible than an
-unsubstantiated statement to displace him.
-
-Under the heavily overcast sky and the thickly interlaced branches of
-the pines, daylight passed into twilight, and twilight fast deepened to
-darkness as the boy pushed on through the forest. Suddenly he halted. To
-his surprise, the trail he was following turned abruptly to the west. He
-knew that the fresher tracks of Saginaw's snow-shoes had been laid over
-his own back trail, and he knew that he had made no right angle turn in
-his trip to Willow River. Bending close to the snow he made out in the
-deep gloom other tracks--the tracks of three men who had not worn
-snow-shoes. The three had evidently intercepted Saginaw and a powwow had
-ensued, for there had been much trampling about in the snow. Then
-Saginaw had abandoned his course and accompanied the men to the
-westward.
-
-[Illustration: THE BOY HASTENED UNNOTICED TO THE EDGE OF A CROWD OF MEN
-THAT ENCIRCLED FRENCHY LAMAR.]
-
-"Camp Two is west of here," muttered the boy. "I guess the men were part
-of Slue Foot's crew, and he went over to the camp with 'em." Darkness
-prevented him from noting that the trail that led to the westward was a
-clumsier trail than Saginaw would have made, or he never would have
-dismissed the matter so lightly from his mind. As it was, he continued
-upon his course for Camp One, where he arrived nearly an hour later to
-find the camp in a turmoil. The boy hastened, unnoticed, to the edge of
-a crowd of men that encircled Frenchy Lamar, who talked as fast as he
-could in an almost unintelligible jargon, which he punctuated with
-shrugs, and wild-flung motions of his arms.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-"_Oui_, dat be'n w'en de las' of de Camp Two tote teams be'n pass 'bout
-de half hour. We com' 'long by de place w'er de road she twis' 'roun an'
-slant down de steep ravine. Woof! Rat on de trail stan' de leetle black
-bear, an', _Sacre!_ Ma leaders git so scare dey stan' oop on de hine leg
-lak dey gon for dance. Dey keek, dey jomp, dey plonge, an', _Voila!_ Dem
-wheelers git crazy too. I'm got ma han' full, an' plenty mor', too, an'
-de nex' t'ing I'm fin' out dey jomp de wagon oop on de beeg stomp an'
-she teep ovaire so queek lak you kin say Jac Robinshon. Crack! Ma reach
-she brek in two an' ma front ax' she git jerk loose from de wagon an' de
-nex' t'ing I'm drag by de lines 'cross de creek so fas' dat tear ma
-coat, ma shirt, ma pants mos' lak de ribbon. I'm bomp ma head, an' lose
-ma cap, an' scratch ma face, but by gar, I'm hang holt de lines, an'
-by-m-by dem horse dey git tire to haul me roun' by de mout', and dey
-stan' still a minute on top de odder side. I'm look back an', _Sacre!_
-Hurley is lay on de groun' an' de boss I. W. W. is hit heem on de head
-wit' de gon. De res' is cuttin' loose deir han's. I'm yell on dem to
-queet poun' on de boss head, wit de rifle, an' de nex' t'ing I'm know:
-Zing! de bullet com' so clos' eet mak de win' on ma face, an' de nex'
-t'ing, Zing! Dat bullet she sting de horse an' I'm just got tam to jomp
-oop on de front ax', an' de horses start out lak she got far business
-away from here queek. Dey ron so fas' I'm got to hol' on wit' ma han's,
-wit' ma feet! Dem horses ron so fas' lak de train, dem wheels jomp
-feefty feet high, an' dey only com' on de groun' 'bout once every half a
-mile an' den I'm git poun', an' bomp, an' rattle, 'til I'm so black lak
-de, w'at you call, de niggaire!
-
-"De neares' doctaire, she down to Birch Lak'. I'm leave ma team een de
-store-keeper stable, an' Ol' Man Niles she say de train don' stop no
-mor' today, so I can't go to Birch Lak' 'til mornin'. I t'ink, by gar,
-I'm mak' de train stop, so I'm push de beeg log on de track an' lay on
-ma belly in de weeds, an' pret' soon de train com' long an' she see de
-beeg log an' she stop queek, an' dey all ron opp front an' I'm climb on
-an' tak' de seat in de smokaire. De train go 'long w'en dey git de log
-shov' off, an' de conductaire, he com' long an' seen me sit dere.
-'We're you git on dis train?' she say, an' I'm tell heem I'm git on to
-Dogfish, w'en de train stop. 'I'm goin' to Birch Lak' for git de
-doctaire for man w'at git keel,' I'm say, an' he say de train don' stop
-to Birch Lak', neider. She t'rough train, an' we'n we git to de firs'
-stop, she gon' for hav' me arres'. I ain' say no mor' an' I'm look out
-de window, an' de conductaire she go an' set down in de back of de car.
-De train she gon' ver' fas' an' by-m-by she com' to de breege, an' Birch
-Lak' is wan half mile.
-
-"I'm travel on de car before, an' I'm see dem stop de train mor' as once
-to put off de lumbaire-jack w'en dey git to fightin' _Voila!_ I'm jomp
-oop on ma feet ver' queek an' pull two, t'ree tam on de leetle rope, an'
-de las' tam I'm pull so hard she bre'k in two. De train she stop so
-queek she mak' fellers bomp 'roun' in de seat, an' de conductaire she so
-mad she lak to bus', an' she holler ver' mooch, an' com' ronnin' down de
-middle. She ain' ver' beeg man, an' I'm reach down queek, de nex' t'ing
-she know she light on de head in de middle w'ere four fellers is playin'
-cards. Den, I'm ron an' jomp off de car an' fin' de doctaire. Dat
-gittin' dark, now, an' she startin' to snow, an' de doctaire she say we
-can't go to Dogfish 'til mornin', day ain' no mor' train. I'm see de
-han' car down by de track, but de doctaire she say we ain' can tak' dat
-for 'cause we git arres'. But I'm laugh on heem, an' I'm say I'm tak'
-dat han' car, 'cause I'm got to git arres' anyhow--but firs' dey got to
-ketch--eh? So I'm tak' a rock an' bus' de lock an' we lif' her on de
-track an' com' to Dogfish. Ol' Man Niles she tak' hees team an' gon' oop
-an' got Hurley an' de cookee, an' breeng heem to de store. De doctaire
-she feex de boss oop, an' she say eef eet ain' for dat cookee stay
-'roun' an' mak' de blood quit comin', Hurley she would be dead befor' we
-com' long. Dis mornin' I'm tak' ma team an' Ol Man Niles's wagon an'
-com' to de camp. Hurley she won' go to de hospital, lak de doctaire say,
-so de doctaire she com' 'long. Eet tak' me all day long, de snow she so
-d'ep, an' by gar----"
-
-Connie left in the middle of the Frenchman's discourse and hurried into
-the office. In his bunk, with his head swathed in bandages, lay Hurley.
-The doctor stood beside the stove and watched Steve feed the injured man
-gruel from a spoon. The big boss opened his eyes as the boy entered. He
-smiled faintly, and with ever so slight a motion of his head indicated
-Steve: "An' I said they wasn't the worth of a lath in his hide," he
-muttered and nodded weakly as Connie crossed swiftly to the boy's side
-and shook his hand. Hurley's voice dropped almost to a whisper: "I'll be
-laid up fer a couple of days. Tell Saginaw to--keep--things--goin'."
-
-"I'll tell him," answered Connie, grimly, and, as the boss's eyes
-closed, stepped to his own bunk and, catching up the service revolver
-from beneath the blankets, hurried from the room.
-
-Connie Morgan was a boy that experience and training had taught to think
-quickly. When he left the office it was with the idea of heading a posse
-of lumberjacks in the capture of the three I. W. W.'s, for from the
-moment he heard of their escape the boy realized that these were the
-three men who had intercepted Saginaw Ed on his return from Willow
-River. His one thought was to rescue the captive, for well he knew that,
-having Saginaw in their power, the thugs would stop at nothing in
-venting their hatred upon the helpless man. As he hurried toward the
-crowd in front of the men's camp his brain worked rapidly. Fifty men in
-the woods at night would make fifty times as much noise as one man. Then
-again, what would the men do if they should catch the three? The boy
-paused for a moment at the corner of the oat house. There was only one
-answer to _that_ question. The answer had been plain even before the
-added outrage of the attack upon Hurley--and Hurley was liked by his
-men. Stronger than ever became the boy's determination to have the I. W.
-W.'s dealt with by the law. There must be no posse.
-
-His mind swung to the other alternative. If he went alone he could
-follow swiftly and silently. The odds would be three against one--but
-the three had only one gun between them. He fingered the butt of his
-revolver confidently. "I can wing the man with the gun, and then cover
-the others," he muttered, "and besides, I'll have all the advantage of
-knowing what I'm up against while they think they're safe. Dan McKeever
-was strong for that. I guess I'll go it alone."
-
-Having arrived at this decision the boy crossed the clearing to the
-men's camp where he singled out Swede Larson from the edge of the crowd.
-"Saginaw and I've got some special work to do," he whispered; "you keep
-the men going 'til we get back." Without waiting for a reply, he
-hastened to the oat house, fastened on his snow-shoes, and slipped into
-the timber.
-
-It was no hardship, even in the darkness, for him to follow the
-snow-shoe trail, and to the point where the others had left it his
-progress was rapid. The snow had stopped falling, and great rifts
-appeared in the wind-driven clouds. Without hesitation Connie swung into
-the trail of the four men. He reasoned that they would not travel far
-because when they had intercepted Saginaw there could not have been more
-than two or three hours of daylight left. The boy followed swiftly along
-the trail, pausing frequently to listen, and as he walked he puzzled
-over the fact that the men had returned to the vicinity of the camp,
-when obviously they should have made for the railway and placed as much
-distance as possible between themselves and the scene of their crimes.
-He dismissed the thought of their being lost, for all three were
-woodsmen. Why, then, had they returned?
-
-Suddenly he halted and shrank into the shelter of a windfall. Upon the
-branches of the pine trees some distance ahead his eye caught the faint
-reflection of a fire.
-
-Very cautiously he left the trail and, circling among the trees,
-approached the light from the opposite direction. Nearer and nearer he
-crept until he could distinctly see the faces of the four men. Crouching
-behind a thick tree trunk, he could see that the men had no blankets,
-and that they huddled close about the fire. He could see Saginaw with
-his hands tied, seated between two of the others. Suddenly, beyond the
-fire, apparently upon the back trail of the men, a twig snapped.
-Instantly one of the three leaped up, rifle in hand, and disappeared in
-the woods. Connie waited in breathless suspense. Had Swede Larson
-followed him? Or had someone else taken up the trail? In a few moments
-the man returned and, taking Saginaw by the arm, jerked him roughly to
-his feet and, still gripping the rifle, hurried him into the woods away
-from the trail. They passed close to Connie, and the boy thanked his
-lucky star that he had circled to the north instead of the south, or
-they would have immediately blundered onto his trail. A short distance
-further on, and just out of sight of the camp fire, they halted, and
-the man gave a low whistle. Instantly another man stepped into the
-circle of the firelight--a man bearing upon his back a heavily laden
-pack surmounted by several pairs of folded blankets. He tossed the pack
-into the snow and greeted the two men who remained at the fire with a
-grin. Then he produced a short black pipe, and, as he stooped to pick up
-a brand from the fire, Connie stared at him in open-mouthed amazement.
-
-The newcomer was the boss of Camp Two!
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XI
-
-CONNIE FINDS AN ALLY
-
-
-"Wher's Pierce?" asked Slue Foot Magee, as he glanced down upon the two
-figures that crouched close about the little fire.
-
-"He went on ahead to hunt a place to camp. We waited to pack the stuff,"
-lied the man, nodding toward the pack sack that the boss of Camp Two had
-deposited in the snow.
-
-"I sure was surprised when Sam, here, popped out of the woods an' told
-me ye'd got away an' needed blankets an' grub. Wha'd ye do to Hurley?
-An' how come ye didn't hit fer the railroad an' make yer git-away?"
-
-"We beat Hurley up a-plenty so'st he won't be in no hurry to take no I.
-W. W.'s nowheres ag'in. An' as fer hittin' fer the railroad, it's too
-cold fer to ride the rods or the bumpers, an' we hain't got a dollar
-between us. You'll have to stake us fer the git-away."
-
-Slue Foot frowned: "I hain't got a cent, neither. Come into the woods on
-credick--an' hain't draw'd none."
-
-"That's a fine mess we're in!" exclaimed the leader angrily. "How fer d'
-ye figger we're a-goin' to git on what little grub ye fetched in that
-pack? An' wher' we goin' to--bein' as we're broke? We hit back fer you
-'cause we know'd ye stood strong in the organization an' we had a right
-to think ye'd see us through."
-
-"I'll see ye through!" growled Slue Foot, impatiently. "But I can't give
-ye nawthin' I hain't got, kin I?" He stood for a few moments staring
-into the fire, apparently in deep thought. "I've got it!" he exclaimed.
-"The Syndicate's got a camp 'bout ten mile north of here on Willer
-River. They're short handed an' the boss'll hire anything he kin git.
-Seen him in town 'fore I come out, an' he wanted to hire me, but I was
-already hired to Hurley--got a boss's job, too, an' that's better'n what
-I'd got out of him. If youse fellers hadn't of be'n in such a hurry to
-pull somethin' an' had of waited 'til I come, ye wouldn't of botched the
-job an' got caught."
-
-"Is that so!" flared the leader. "I s'pose we'd ort to know'd ye was
-goin' to be hired on this job! An' I s'pose our instructions is not to
-pull no rough stuff onless you're along to see it's done right!"
-
-"They hain't nawthin' in standin' 'round argerin'," interrupted Slue
-Foot. "What I was a-goin' on to say is that youse better hike on up to
-Willer River an' git ye a job. There's grub enough in the pack to last
-ye twict that fer."
-
-"Wher'll we tell the boss we come from? 'Taint in reason we'd hit that
-fer into the woods huntin' a job."
-
-"Tell him ye got sore on me an' quit. If they's any questions asked I'll
-back ye up."
-
-The leader of the I. W. W.'s looked at Sam, and Sam looked at the
-leader. They were in a quandary. For reasons of their own they had not
-told Slue Foot that they had picked up Saginaw--and with Saginaw on
-their hands, how were they going to follow out the boss's suggestion?
-
-Behind his big tree, Connie Morgan had been an interested listener. He
-knew why the men stared blankly at each other, and chuckled to himself
-at their predicament.
-
-"What's to hinder someone from Camp One a-trailin' us up there?"
-suggested Sam.
-
-"Trailin' ye! How they goin' to trail ye? It was a-snowin' clean up to
-the time ye got to Camp Two, an' if any one sees yer tracks around there
-I'll say I sent some men up that way fer somethin'. An' besides," he
-continued, glancing upward where the clouds that had thinned into flying
-scuds had thickened again, obliterating the stars, "this storm hain't
-over yet. It'll be snowin' ag'in 'fore long an' ye won't leave no more
-trail'n a canoe. Anyways, that's the best way I kin think of. If you've
-got a better one go to it--I've done all I kin fer ye." There was
-finality in Slue Foot's voice as he drew on his mittens, and turned from
-the fire. "So long, an' good luck to ye."
-
-"So long," was the rather surly rejoinder. "If that's the best we kin
-do, I s'pose we gotta do it. Mebbe if it starts snowin' we're all right,
-an' if we make it, we'll be safer up there than what we would down along
-the railroad, anyways. They won't be no one a-huntin' us in the woods."
-
-"Sure they won't," agreed Slue Foot, as he passed from sight into the
-timber.
-
-The two beside the fire sat in silence until the sound of Slue Foot's
-footsteps was swallowed up in the distance. Then Sam spoke: "What we
-goin' to do with this here Saginaw?" he asked.
-
-The leader glanced skyward. "It's startin' to snow--" he leered and,
-stopping abruptly, rose to his feet. "Wait till we git Pierce in here."
-Producing some pieces of rope from his pocket, he grinned. "Lucky I
-fetched these along when I cut 'em off my hands. We'll give him a chanct
-to see how it feels to be tied up onct." The man stepped into the timber
-and a few minutes later returned accompanied by Pierce, to whom they
-immediately began to relate what had passed between them and the boss of
-Camp Two.
-
-The moment they seated themselves about the fire, Connie slipped from
-his hiding place behind the tree and stole noiselessly toward the spot
-where the men had left Saginaw. Snow was falling furiously now, adding
-the bewildering effect of its whirling flakes to the intense blackness
-of the woods. Removing his snow-shoes to avoid leaving a wide, flat
-trail, the boy stepped into the tracks of the two who had returned to
-the fire and, a few moments later, was bending over a dark form that sat
-motionless with its back against the trunk of a tree.
-
-"It's me, Saginaw," he whispered, as the keen edge of his knife blade
-severed the ropes that bound the man's hands and feet.
-
-[Illustration: "WHAT IN THE NAME OF TIME BE YOU DOIN' HERE?" EXCLAIMED
-SAGINAW.]
-
-The man thrust his face close to Connie's in the darkness. "What in the
-name of time be you doin' here?" he exclaimed.
-
-"Sh-sh-sh," whispered the boy. "Come on, we've got to get away in a
-hurry. There's no tellin' how soon those fellows will finish their
-powwow."
-
-"What do you mean--git away? When we git away from here we take them
-birds along, er my name ain't Saginaw Ed! On top of tryin' to burn up
-the camp they've up an' murdered Hurley, an' they'd of done the like by
-me, if they'd be'n give time to!"
-
-"We'll get them, later. I know where they're going. What we've got to do
-is to beat it. Step in my tracks so they won't know there were two of
-us. They'll think you cut yourself loose and they won't try to follow in
-the dark, especially if the storm holds."
-
-"But them hounds has got my rackets."
-
-"I've got mine, and when we get away from here I'll put 'em on and break
-trail for you."
-
-"Look a here, you give me yer gun an' I'll go in an' clean up on them
-desperadoes. I'll show 'em if the I. W. W.'s is goin' to run the woods!
-I'll----"
-
-"Come on! I tell you we can get 'em whenever we want 'em----"
-
-"I'll never want 'em no worse'n I do right now."
-
-"Hurley's all right, I saw him a little while ago."
-
-"They said they----"
-
-"I don't care what they said. Hurley's down in the office, right now.
-Come on, and when we put a few miles behind us, I'll tell you all you
-want to know."
-
-"You'll tell a-plenty, then," growled Saginaw, only half convinced. "An'
-here's another thing--if you're double crossin' me, you're a-goin' to
-wish you never seen the woods."
-
-The boy's only answer was a laugh, and he led, swiftly as the intense
-darkness would permit, into the woods. They had gone but a short
-distance when he stopped and put on his rackets. After that progress was
-faster, and Saginaw Ed, mushing along behind, wondered at the accuracy
-with which the boy held his course in the blackness and the whirling
-snow. A couple of hours later, Connie halted in the shelter of a thick
-windfall. "We can rest up for a while, now," he said, "and I'll tell you
-some of things you want to know."
-
-"Where do you figger we're at?" asked Saginaw, regarding the boy
-shrewdly.
-
-"We're just off the tote road between the two camps," answered the boy
-without hesitation.
-
-A moment of silence followed the words and when he spoke the voice of
-Saginaw sounded hard: "I've be'n in the woods all my life, an' it would
-of bothered me to hit straight fer camp on a night like this. They's
-somethin' wrong here somewheres, kid--an' the time's come fer a
-showdown. I don't git you, at all! You be'n passin' yerself off fer a
-greener. Ever sence you went out an' got that deer I've know'd you
-wasn't--but I figgered it worn't none of my business. Then when you
-out-figgered them hounds--that worn't no greener's job, an' I know'd
-that--but, I figgered you was all to the good. But things has happened
-sence, that ain't all to the good--by a long shot. You've got some
-explainin' to do, an' seein' we're so clost to camp, we better go on to
-the office an' do it around the stove."
-
-"We wouldn't get much chance to powwow in the office tonight. Hurley's
-there, and the doctor, and Steve, and Lon Camden."
-
-"The doctor?"
-
-"Yes, those fellows beat Hurley up pretty bad, but he's coming along all
-right. Steve stayed by him, and the doctor said it saved his life."
-
-"You don't mean that sneakin' cookee that throw'd in with the I. W.
-W.?"
-
-"Yup."
-
-"Well, I'll be doggoned! But, them bein' in the office don't alter the
-case none. We might's well have things open an' above board."
-
-Connie leaned forward and placed his hand on the man's arm. "What I've
-got to say, I want to say to you, and to no one else. I wanted to play
-the game alone, but while I was trailing you down from Willow River, I
-decided I'd have to let you in on it."
-
-"You know'd I follered you up there?"
-
-"Of course I knew it. Didn't I help you string that racket?"
-
-Saginaw shook his head in resignation. "We might's well have it out
-right here," he said. "I don't git you. First off, you figger how to
-catch them jaspers with the goods an' lock 'em up. Then you throw in
-with Slue Foot. Then you hike up to the Syndicate camp an' is thicker'n
-thieves with the boss. Then you pop up in a blizzard in the middle of
-the night an' cut me loose. Then you turn 'round an' let them hounds go
-when we could of nailed 'em where they set--seems like you've bit off
-quite a contract to make all them things jibe. Go ahead an' spit 'er
-out--an' believe me, it'll be an earful! First, though, you tell me
-where them I. W. W.'s is goin' an' how you know. If I ain't satisfied,
-I'm a-goin' to hit right back an' git 'em while the gittin's good."
-
-"They're going up to work for the Syndicate in the Willow River Camp."
-
-"Know'd they was loose an' slipped up to git 'em a job, did you?" asked
-Saginaw sarcastically.
-
-Connie grinned. "No. But there's a big job ahead of you and me this
-winter--to save the timber and clear Hurley's name."
-
-"What do you know about Hurley an' the timber?"
-
-"Not as much as I will by spring. But I do know that we lost $14,000 on
-this job last winter. You see, I'm one of the owners."
-
-"One of the owners!" Saginaw exclaimed incredulously.
-
-"Yes. I've got the papers here to prove it. You couldn't read 'em in the
-dark, so you'll have to take my word for it 'til we get where you can
-read 'em. Waseche Bill is my partner and we live in Ten Bow, Alaska.
-Soon after Hurley's report reached us, showing the loss, a letter came
-from Mike Gillum, saying that Hurley was in the pay of the
-Syndicate----"
-
-"He's a liar!" cried Saginaw wrathfully shaking his mittened fist in
-Connie's face. "I've know'd Hurley, man an' boy, an' they never was a
-squarer feller ever swung an axe. Who is this here Mike Gillum? Lead me
-to him! I'll tell him to his face he's a liar, an' then I'll prove it by
-givin' him the doggonest lickin' he ever got--an' I don't care if he's
-big as a meetin' house door, neither!"
-
-"Wait a minute, Saginaw, and listen. I know Hurley's square. But I
-didn't know it until I got acquainted with him. I came clear down from
-Alaska to catch him with the goods, and that's why I hired out to him.
-But, Mike Gillum is square, too. He's boss of the Syndicate camp on
-Willow River. A clerk in the Syndicate office told him that the
-Syndicate was paying Hurley, and Mike wrote to Waseche Bill. He's a
-friend of Waseche's--used to prospect in Alaska----"
-
-"I don't care if he used to prospeck in heaven! He's a liar if he says
-Hurley ever double crossed any one!"
-
-"Hold on, I think I've got an idea of what's going on here and it will
-be up to us to prove it. The man that's doing the double crossing is
-Slue Foot Magee. I didn't like his looks from the minute I first saw
-him. Then he began to hint that there were ways a forty-dollar-a-month
-clerk could double his wages, and when I pretended to fall in with his
-scheme he said that when they begin laying 'em down he'll show me how to
-shade the cut. And more than that, he said he had something big he'd let
-me in on later, provided I kept my eyes and ears open to what went on in
-the office."
-
-"An' you say you an' yer pardner owns this here timber?"
-
-"That's just what I said."
-
-"Then Slue Foot's ondertook to show you a couple of schemes where you
-kin steal consider'ble money off yerself?"
-
-Connie laughed. "That's it, exactly."
-
-Saginaw Ed remained silent for several moments. "Pervidin' you kin show
-them papers, an' from what I've saw of you, I ain't none surprised if
-you kin, how come it that yer pardner sent a kid like you way down here
-on what any one ort to know would turn out to be a rough job anyways you
-look at it?"
-
-"He didn't send me--I came. He wanted to come himself, but at that time
-we thought it was Hurley we were after, and Hurley knows Waseche so he
-could never have found out anything, even if he had come down. And
-besides, I've had quite a lot of experience in jobs like this. I served
-a year with the Mounted."
-
-"The Mounted! You don't mean the Canady Mounted Police!"
-
-"Yes, I do."
-
-There was another long silence, then the voice of Saginaw rumbled almost
-plaintively through the dark, "Say, kid, you ain't never be'n
-_President_, have you?"
-
-Connie snickered. "No, I've never been President. And if there's nothing
-else you want to know right now, let's hit the hay. We've both done some
-man's size mushing today."
-
-"You spoke a word, kid," answered Saginaw, rising to his feet; "I
-wouldn't put no crookedness whatever past Slue Foot. But that didn't
-give this here Gillum no license to blackguard Hurley in no letter."
-
-"Has Hurley ever worked for the Syndicate?" asked Connie.
-
-"No, he ain't. I know every job he's had in Minnesoty an' Westconsin.
-Then he went out West to Idyho, or Montany, or somewheres, an' this
-here's the first job he's had sence he come back."
-
-"What I've been thinking is that Slue Foot has passed himself off to the
-Syndicate as Hurley. They know that Hurley is boss of this camp, but
-they don't know him by sight. It's a risky thing to do, but I believe
-Slue Foot has done it."
-
-"Well, jumpin' Jerushelam! D'you s'pose he'd of dared?"
-
-"That's what we've got to find out--and we've got to do it alone. You
-know Hurley better than I do, and you know that he's hot-headed, and you
-know that if he suspected Slue Foot of doing that, he couldn't wait to
-get the evidence so we could get him with the goods. He'd just naturally
-sail into him and beat him to a pulp."
-
-Saginaw chuckled. "Yes, an' then he'd squeeze the juice out of the pulp
-to finish off with. I guess yer right, kid. It's up to me an' you. But
-how'd you know them I. W. W.'s is headin' fer Willer River?"
-
-"Because I heard Slue Foot tell them to."
-
-"Slue Foot!"
-
-"Yes, I forgot to tell you that Slue Foot is an I. W. W., too. I didn't
-know it myself 'til tonight. You see, when I got back to camp and found
-that Hurley's prisoners had made a get-away, I knew right then why you
-had turned off the back trail from Willow River. I knew they'd treat you
-like they did Hurley, or worse, so I hit the trail."
-
-"Wasn't they no one else handy you could of brung along?" asked Saginaw,
-drily.
-
-"The whole camp would have jumped at the chance--and you know it! And
-you know what they'd have done when they caught 'em. I knew I could
-travel faster and make less noise than a big gang, and I knew I could
-handle the job when I got there. I had slipped up and was watching when
-Pierce took you into the timber. He did that because they heard someone
-coming. It was Slue Foot, and he brought 'em a grub stake and some
-blankets. They knew he was an I. W. W., and they'd managed to slip him
-the word that they were loose. They wanted him to stake them to some
-money, too, but Slue Foot said he didn't have any, and told them to get
-a job up on Willow River. He told them they'd be safer there than they
-would anywhere down along the railroad."
-
-"Yes, but how'd you know they'll go there?"
-
-"They can't go any place else," laughed the boy. "They're broke, and
-they've only got a little bit of grub."
-
-"When we goin' up an' git 'em?" persisted Saginaw.
-
-"We'll let the sheriff do that for us, then the whole thing will be
-according to law."
-
-"I guess that's right," assented the man, as the two swung down the tote
-road.
-
-"We'd better roll in in the men's camp," suggested Connie, as they
-reached the clearing. A little square of light from the office window
-showed dimly through the whirling snow, and, approaching noiselessly,
-the two peeked in. Mounded blankets covered the sleeping forms of the
-doctor and Lon Camden; Hurley's bandaged head was visible upon his
-coarse pillow, and beside him sat Steve, wide awake, with the bottles of
-medicine within easy reach.
-
-"Half past one!" exclaimed Saginaw, glancing at the little clock. "By
-jiminetty, kid, it's time we was to bed!"
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XII
-
-SHADING THE CUT
-
-
-It was nine o'clock the following morning when Connie was awakened by
-someone bending over him. It was Saginaw, and the boy noticed that his
-cap and mackinaw were powdered with snow.
-
-"Still snowing, eh? Why didn't you wake me up before?"
-
-"It's 'bout quit, an' as fer wakin' you up," he grinned, "I didn't
-hardly dast to. If I was the owner of an outfit an' any doggone
-lumberjack woke me up 'fore I was good an' ready I'd fire him."
-
-"Oh, you want to see my papers, do you?" grinned Connie.
-
-"Well, I might take a squint at 'em. But that ain't what I come fer. The
-boss is a whole lot better, an' the doctor's a-goin' back. What I want
-to know is, why can't he swear out them warrants ag'in them three I. W.
-W.'s an' have it over with? I didn't say nothin' to Hurley 'bout them
-bein' located, er he'd of riz up an' be'n half ways to Willer River by
-now."
-
-"Sure, he can swear out the warrants! I'll slip over to the office and
-get their names out of the time book, and while I'm gone you might look
-over these." The boy selected several papers from a waterproof wallet
-which he drew from an inner pocket and passed them over to Saginaw, then
-he finished dressing and hurried over to the office. Hurley was asleep,
-and, copying the names from the book, Connie returned to the men's camp.
-
-"You're the goods all right," said Saginaw, admiringly, as he handed
-back the papers. "From now on I'm with you 'til the last gap, as the
-feller says. You've got more right down nerve than I ever know'd a kid
-could have, an' you've got the head on you to back it. Yer good enough
-fer me--you say the word, an' I go the limit." He stuck out his hand,
-which Connie gripped strongly.
-
-"You didn't have to tell me that, Saginaw," answered the boy, gravely,
-"if you had, you would never have had the chance."
-
-Saginaw Ed removed his hat and scratched his head thoughtfully. "That
-there'll strike through 'bout dinner time, I guess. But I suspicion what
-you mean, an'--I'm obliged."
-
-"Here are the names for the doctor--better tell him to swear out
-warrants both for arson and for attempted murder."
-
-"Yes, sir," answered Saginaw, respectfully.
-
-"Yes, _what!_"
-
-The man grinned sheepishly. "Why--I guess--bein' I was talkin' to the
-owner----"
-
-"Look here, Saginaw," interrupted the boy, wrathfully, "you just forget
-this 'owner' business, and don't you start 'siring' me! What do you want
-to do--give this whole thing away? Up where I live they don't call a man
-'sir' just because he happens to have a little more dust than somebody
-else. It ain't the 'Misters' and the 'Sirs' that are the big men up
-there; it's the 'Bills' and the 'Jacks' and the 'Scotties' and the
-'Petes'--men that would get out and mush a hundred miles to carry grub
-to a scurvy camp instead of sitting around the stove and hiring someone
-else to do it--men that have gouged gravel and stayed with the game,
-bucking the hardest winters in the world, sometimes with only half
-enough to eat--men with millions, and men that don't own the tools they
-work with! My own father was one of 'em. 'The unluckiest man in Alaska,'
-they called him! He never made a strike, but you bet he was a man! There
-isn't a man that knew him, from Skagway to Candle, and from Candle to
-Dawson and beyond, that isn't proud to call him friend. Sam Morgan they
-call him--and they don't put any 'Mister' in front of it, either!"
-
-Saginaw Ed nodded slowly, and once more he seized the boy's hand in a
-mighty grip. "I git you, kid. I know they's a lot of good men up in your
-country--but, somehow, I've got a hunch they kind of overlooked a bet
-when they're callin' your pa onlucky." He took the slip of paper upon
-which Connie had written the names. At the door he turned. "We begin
-layin' 'em down today," he said. "Shouldn't wonder an' what Slue Foot'll
-be down 'fore very long fer to give you yer first lesson."
-
-"Hurley will think I'm a dandy, showing up at ten o'clock in the
-morning."
-
-"Never you mind that," said Saginaw; "I fixed that part up all
-right--told him you was up 'til after one o'clock helpin' me git things
-strung out fer to begin work today."
-
-Connie bolted a hasty breakfast, and, as he made his way from the cook's
-camp to the office, sounds came from the woods beyond the clearing--the
-voices of men calling loudly to each other as they worked, the ring of
-axes, and the long crash of falling trees. The winter's real work had
-begun, and Connie smiled grimly as he thought of the cauldron of plot
-and counter-plot that was seething behind the scenes in the peaceful
-logging camp.
-
-The boy found Hurley much improved, although still weak from the effects
-of the terrible beating he had received at the hands of the escaped
-prisoners. The big boss fumed and fretted at his enforced inactivity,
-and bewailed the fact that he had given the doctor his word that he
-would stay in his bunk for at least two days longer. "An' ut's partly
-yer fault, wid yer talk av th' law--an' partly mine fer listenin' to
-yez," he complained fiercely, in rich brogue, as Connie sat at his desk.
-The boy's shoulders drooped slightly under the rebuke, but he answered
-nothing. Suddenly Hurley propped himself up on his elbow. "Phy don't
-yez tell me Oi'm a big liar?" he roared. "Ye was right, an' Oi know ut.
-Don't pay no heed to me, kid. Oi've got a grouch fer lettin' them
-shpalpeens git away. Furst Oi was thryin' to lay ut on Frinchy, an' him
-the bist teamster in th' woods! Ut's loike a sp'ilt b'y Oi am, thryin'
-to blame somewan f'r what c'udn't be helped at all. Ut was an accident
-all togither, an' a piece av bad luck--an' there's an end to ut. Bring
-me over yer book, now, an' Oi'll show ye about kaypin' thim logs."
-
-[Illustration: "PHY DON'T YEZ TELL ME OI'M A BIG LIAR?" HE ROARED.]
-
-Connie soon learned the simple process of bookkeeping, and hardly had he
-finished when the door opened and Slue Foot Magee entered.
-
-"Well, well! They sure beat ye up bad, boss. I heerd about it on my way
-down. I'd like to lay hands on them crooks, an' I bet they'd think twict
-before they beat another man up! But yer a fightin' man, Hurley; they
-must of got ye foul."
-
-"Foul is the word. When the wagon tipped over my head hit a tree an'
-that's the last I remember 'til I come to an' the boy, Steve, was
-bathin' my head with snow an' tyin' up my cuts with strips of his
-shirt."
-
-"Too bad," condoled Slue Foot, shaking his head sympathetically; "an'
-they got plumb away?"
-
-"Sure they did. It wasn't so far to the railroad, an' the snow fallin'
-to cover their tracks. But, Oi'll lay holt av 'em sometime!" he cried,
-relapsing into his brogue. "An' whin Oi do, law er no law, Oi'll bust
-'em woide open clane to their dirty gizzards!"
-
-"Sure ye will!" soothed Slue Foot. "But, it's better ye don't go
-worryin' about it now. They're miles away, chances is, mixed up with a
-hundred like 'em in some town er nother. I started the cuttin' this
-mornin'. I'm workin' to the north boundary, an' then swing back from the
-river."
-
-Hurley nodded: "That's right. We want to make as good a showin' as we
-kin this year, Slue Foot. Keep 'em on the jump, but don't crowd 'em too
-hard."
-
-Slue Foot turned to Connie: "An' now, if ye hain't got nawthin' better
-to do than set there an' beaver that pencil, ye kin come on up to Camp
-Two an' I'll give ye the names of the men."
-
-"If you didn't have anything better to do than hike down here, why
-didn't you stick a list of the names in your pocket?" flashed the boy,
-who had found it hard to sit and listen to the words of the
-double-dealing boss of Camp Two.
-
-"Kind of sassy, hain't ye?" sneered Slue Foot. "We'll take that out of
-ye, 'fore yer hair turns grey. D'ye ever walk on rackets?"
-
-"Some," answered Connie. "I guess I can manage to make it."
-
-Slue Foot went out, and Hurley motioned the boy to his side. "Don't pay
-no heed to his growlin' an' grumblin', it was born in him," he
-whispered.
-
-"I'll show him one of these days I ain't afraid of him," answered the
-boy, so quickly that Hurley laughed.
-
-"Hurry along, then," he said. "An' if ye git back in time I've a notion
-to send ye out after a pa'tridge. Saginaw says yer quite some sport with
-a rifle."
-
-"That's the way to work it, kid," commended Slue Foot, as Connie bent
-over the fastenings of his snow-shoes. "I'll growl an' you sass every
-time we're ketched together. 'Twasn't that I'd of made ye hike way up to
-my camp jest fer to copy them names, but the time's came fer to begin to
-git lined up on shadin' the cut, an' we jest nachelly had to git away
-from the office. Anyways it won't hurt none to git a good trail broke
-between the camps."
-
-"There ain't any chance of getting caught at this graft, is there?"
-asked the boy.
-
-"Naw; that is, 'tain't one chanct in a thousan'. Course, it stan's to
-reason if a man's playin' fer big stakes he's got to take a chanct. Say,
-where'd you learn to walk on rackets? You said you hadn't never be'n in
-the woods before."
-
-"I said I'd never worked in the woods--I've hunted some."
-
-The talk drifted to other things as the two plodded along the tote road,
-but once within the little office at Camp Two, Slue Foot plunged
-immediately into his scheme. "It's like this: The sawyers gits paid by
-the piece--the more they cut, the more pay they git. The logs is scaled
-after they're on the skidways. Each pair of sawyers has their mark they
-put on the logs they cut, an' the scaler puts down every day what each
-pair lays down. Then every night he turns in the report to you, an' you
-copy it in the log book. The total cut has got to come out right--the
-scaler knows all the time how many feet is banked on the rollways. I've
-got three pair of sawyers that's new to the game, an' they hain't
-a-goin' to cut as much as the rest. The scaler won't never look at your
-books, 'cause it hain't none of his funeral if the men don't git what's
-a-comin' to 'em. He keeps his own tally of the total cut. Same with the
-walkin' boss--that's Hurley. All he cares is to make a big showin'.
-He'll have an eye on the total cut, an' he'll leave it to Saginaw an' me
-to see that the men gits what's comin' to 'em in our own camps. Now,
-what you got to do is to shade a little off each pair of sawyers' cut
-an' add it onto what's turned in fer them three pair I told you about.
-Then, in the spring, when these birds cashes their vouchers in town,
-I'm right there to collect the overage."
-
-"But," objected Connie, "won't the others set up a howl? Surely, they
-will know that these men are not cutting as much as they are."
-
-"How they goin' to find out what vouchers them six turns in? They hain't
-a-goin' to show no one their vouchers."
-
-"But, won't the others know they're being credited with a short cut?"
-
-"That's where you come in. You got to take off so little that they won't
-notice it. Sawyers only knows _about_ how much they got comin'. They
-only guess at the cut. A little offen each one comes to quite a bit by
-spring."
-
-"But, what if these men that get the overage credited to 'em refuse to
-come across?"
-
-Slue Foot grinned evilly: "I'll give 'em a little bonus fer the use of
-their names," he said. "But, they hain't a-goin' to refuse to kick in.
-I've got their number. They hain't a one of the hull six of 'em that I
-hain't got somethin' on, an' they know it."
-
-"All right," said Connie, as he arose to go. "I'm on. And don't forget
-that you promised to let me in on something bigger, later on."
-
-"I won't fergit. It looks from here like me an' you had a good thing."
-
-An hour later Connie once more entered the office at Camp One. Steve sat
-beside Hurley, and Saginaw Ed stood warming himself with his back to the
-stove.
-
-"Back ag'in," greeted the big boss. "How about it, ye too tired to swing
-out into the brush with the rifle? Seems like they wouldn't nothin' in
-the world taste so good as a nice fat pa'tridge. An' you tell the cook
-if he dries it up when he roasts it, he better have his turkey packed
-an' handy to grab."
-
-"I'm not tired at all," smiled Connie, as he took Saginaw's rifle from
-the wall. "It's too bad those fellows swiped your gun, but I guess I can
-manage to pop off a couple of heads with this."
-
-"You'd better run along with him, Steve," said Hurley, as he noted that
-the other boy eyed Connie wistfully. "The walk'll do ye good. Ye hain't
-hardly stretched a leg sense I got hurt. The kid don't mind, do ye,
-kid?"
-
-"You bet I don't!" exclaimed Connie heartily. "Come on, Steve, we'll
-tree a bunch of 'em and then take turns popping their heads off."
-
-As the two boys made their way across the clearing, Hurley raised
-himself on his elbow, and stared after them through the window: "Say,
-Saginaw," he said, "d'ye know there's a doggone smart kid."
-
-"Who?" asked the other, as he spat indifferently into the wood box.
-
-"Why, this here Connie. Fer a greener, I never see his beat."
-
-"Yeh," answered Saginaw, drily, his eyes also upon the retreating backs,
-"he's middlin' smart, all right. Quite some of a kid--fer a greener."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIII
-
-SAGINAW ED HUNTS A CLUE
-
-
-"Hello!" cried Saginaw Ed, as he stared in surprise at a wide, flat
-trail in the snow. The exclamation brought Connie Morgan to his side.
-The two were hunting partridges and rabbits, and their wanderings had
-carried them to the extreme western edge of the timber tract, several
-miles distant from the camps that were located upon the Dogfish River,
-which formed its eastern boundary. Despite the fact that the work of
-both camps was in full swing, these two found frequent opportunity to
-slip out into the timber for a few hours' hunt, which answered the
-twofold purpose of giving them a chance to perfect their plans for the
-undoing of Slue Foot Magee, and providing a welcome addition to the salt
-meat bill of fare.
-
-"Wonder who's be'n along here? 'Tain't no one from the camps--them's
-Injun snow-shoes. An' they ain't no one got a right to hunt here,
-neither. Hurley posted the hull trac' account of not wantin' no
-permiscu's shootin' goin' on with the men workin' in the timber. Them
-tracks is middlin' fresh, too."
-
-"Made yesterday," opined Connie, as he examined the trail closely.
-"Travelling slow, and following his own back trail."
-
-Saginaw nodded approval. "Yup," he agreed. "An', bein' as he was
-travellin' slow, he must of went quite a little piece. He wasn't
-carryin' no pack."
-
-"Travelling light," corroborated the boy. "And he went up and came back
-the same day."
-
-"Bein' as he headed north and come back from there, it ain't goin' to do
-us no hurt to kind of find out if he's hangin' 'round clost by. They
-ain't nothing north of us, in a day's walk an' back, except the
-Syndicate's Willer River camp. An', spite of yer stickin' up fer him, I
-don't trust that there Mike Gillum, nor no one else that would claim
-Hurley throw'd in with the Syndicate." The man struck into the trail,
-and Connie followed. They had covered scarcely half a mile when Saginaw
-once more halted in surprise.
-
-"Well, I'll be doggoned if there ain't a dugout! An' onless I'm quite a
-bit off my reckonin', it's inside our line." For several moments the two
-scrutinized the structure, which was half cabin, half dugout. From the
-side of a steep bank the log front of the little building protruded into
-the ravine. Smoke curled lazily from a stovepipe that stuck up through
-the snow-covered roof. The single window was heavily frosted, and a deep
-path had been shovelled through a huge drift that reached nearly to the
-top of the door. The trail the two had been following began and ended at
-that door, and without hesitation they approached and knocked loudly.
-The door opened, and in the dark oblong of the interior stood the
-grotesque figure of a little old man. A pair of bright, watery eyes
-regarded them from above a tangle of grey beard, and long grey hair
-curled from beneath a cap of muskrat skin from which the fur was worn in
-irregular patches. "Phwat d'yez want?" he whined, in a voice cracked and
-thin. "Is ut about me money?"
-
-[Illustration: "PHWAT D'YEZ WANT?" HE WHINED.]
-
-"Yer money?" asked Saginaw. "We don't know nothin' about no money. We're
-from the log camps over on Dogfish. What we want to know is what ye're
-doin' here?"
-
-"Doin' here!" exclaimed the little old man. "Oi'm livin' here, that's
-what Oi'm doin'--jest like Oi've done f'r fifteen year. Come on in av ye
-want to palaver. Oi'm owld an' like to freeze standin' here in th'
-dure, an' if ye won't come in, g'wan away, an' bad cess to yez f'r not
-bringin' me back me money."
-
-Saginaw glanced at Connie and touched his forehead significantly. As
-they stepped into the stuffy interior, the old man closed the door and
-fastened it with an oak bar. Little light filtered through the heavily
-frosted window, and in the semi-darkness the two found difficulty
-picking their way amid the litter of traps, nets, and firewood that
-covered the floor. The little room boasted no chair, but, seating
-himself upon an upturned keg, the owner motioned his visitors to the
-bunk that was built along the wall within easy reach of the little cast
-iron cooking stove that served also to heat the room.
-
-"Ye say ye've lived here for fifteen years?" asked Saginaw, as he drew
-off his heavy mittens.
-
-"Oi have thot."
-
-"Ye wasn't here last winter."
-
-"Thot's whut Oi'm afther tellin' yez. Last winter I wuz to the city."
-
-"This here shack looks like it's old, all right," admitted Saginaw.
-"Funny no one run acrost it last winter."
-
-"Ut snowed airly," cut in the little man, "an' if they ain't no wan here
-to dig her out, she'd drift plumb under on th' furst wind."
-
-"Who are you?" asked Connie. "And what do you do for a living? And what
-did you mean about your money?"
-
-"Who sh'd Oi be but Dinny O'Sullivan? 'An' phwat do Oi do fer a livin'?'
-sez ye. 'Til last winter Oi worked f'r Timothy McClusky, thot owned this
-trac' an' w'd died befoor he'd av sold ut to th' Syndicate. Good wages,
-he paid me, an' Oi kep' off th' timber thayves, an' put out foires, an'
-what not. An' Oi thrapped an' fished betoimes an' Oi made me a livin'.
-Thin, McClusky sold th' timber. 'Ye betther come on back wid me, Dinny,'
-sez he. 'Back to the owld sod. Ut's rich Oi'll be over there, Dinny, an'
-Oi'll see ye'll niver want.'
-
-"But, ut's foorty year an' more since Oi come to Amurica, an' Oi'd be a
-stranger back yon. 'Oi'll stay,' Oi sez, 'f'r Oi've got used to th'
-woods, an' whin they cut down th' timber, Oi'll move on till somewheres
-they ain't cut.' 'Ut's hatin' Oi am to lave yez behind, Dinny,' sez he,
-'but, Oi won't lave ye poor, fer ye've served me well,' an' wid thot,
-he puts his hand in his pocket loike, an' pulls out some bills, an' he
-hands 'em to me. 'Put 'em by f'r a rainy day, Dinny,' he sez, an' thin
-he wuz gone. Oi come insoide an' barred th' dure, an' Oi counted th'
-money in me hand. Tin bills they wuz, all bright an' new an' clane, an'
-aich bill wuz foive hunder' dollars. 'Twas more money thin Oi'd iver
-see, or thought to see, an' ut wuz all moine--moine to kape or to spind,
-to t'row away er to save. 'Oi'll save ut,' sez Oi, 'loike McClusky said,
-ag'in' a rainy day.' An' Oi loosed a board in th' flure--'tiz th' wan to
-th' left in under th' bunk, yonder--an' Oi put th' bills in a tobaccy
-tin an' put 'em in th' hole Oi'd scooped out, an' put back th' board."
-The little old man paused and poked noisily at the stove, fumbled in his
-pockets and produced a short, black cutty pipe and a pouch of tobacco,
-and continued:
-
-"Oi've wor-rked hard from six years owld to siventy, but ut's not in th'
-name av O'Sullivan to lay an-nything by. 'Twus come hard an' go
-aisy--but f'r a month Oi niver lifted th' board. Thin wan day Oi tuk 'em
-out an' counted 'em. Th' nixt wake Oi done th' same. Th' days begun to
-git shorter, an' th' noights colder, an' th' ducks come whistlin' out
-av th' narth. Ivery day, now, Oi'd take thim bills out an' count 'em. Oi
-cut three little notches in the carners wid me knife--'tis the mark Oi
-file on me thraps, so whin an-nyone sees 'em, 'Tiz Dinny O'Sullivan's
-bill,' they'll say, an' Oi can't lose 'em. ''Tiz a cowld winter comin',
-Dinny,' sez Oi, 'f'r th' mushrats is buildin' airly. Yer gittin' owld
-f'r th' thrappin',' sez Oi, but Oi know'd 'twuz a loie whin Oi said ut;
-'beloike ye'd betther go to th' city.' 'Ye'll not!' sez Oi, moindin'
-what McClusky said about a rainy day. An' Oi put back th' bills an'
-covered thim wid th' board. Th' nixt day ut wuz cloudy an' cowld, an' Oi
-set be th' stove an' counted me bills. 'Th' loights is bright av an
-avenin' in th' city, Dinny,' Oi sez, 'an' there's shows an' what not,
-an' min av yer koind to palaver. Ut's loike a mink ye'll be livin' in
-yer hole in th' woods av ye stay. There's too much money, an-nyhow,' Oi
-sez; 'av ye don't git sick, ye don't nade ut, an' if ye do, 'twill
-outlast ye, an' whin ye die, who'll have th' spindin' av thim clane new
-bills? They's prob'ly O'Sullivans lift unhung yit in Oirland,' sez
-Oi--though av me mimory's good, they's few that aught to be--'Oi'll
-spend 'em mesilf.' Th' wind wailed t'rough th' trees loike th' banshee.
-Oi looked out th' windie--'twuz rainin'. ''Tis a token,' sez Oi; ''tiz
-th' rainy day thot McClusky said w'd come.'" The old man chuckled. "'Tiz
-loike thot a man argys whin ut's himself's th' judge an' jury.
-
-"So Oi put th' bills in me pocket an' tuck th' thrain fer St. Paul. Oi
-seen Moike Gillum on th' thrain an' Oi show'd um me money. 'Go back to
-th' woods, Dinny,' he sez. 'There's no fool loike an owld fool, ye'll
-moind, an' they'll have ut away from yez.' 'They'll not!' sez Oi. 'An'
-Oi'll be betther fer a year av rist.' He thried to argy but Oi'd have
-none av ut, an' Oi put up wid th' Widdy MacShane, 'twuz half-sister to a
-cousin av a frind av moine Oi know'd in Brainard in nointy-sivin. Foive
-dollars a week Oi paid fer board an' room an' washin'--Oi'd live in
-style wid no thought fer expince. Oi bought me a hat an' a suit wid
-brass buttons t'w'd done proud to Brian Boru himsilf."
-
-The old man paused and looked out the window. "To make a long story
-short, be Christmas Oi wuz toired av me bargain. Oi've lived in th'
-woods too long, an' Oi'll lave 'em no more. Oi stuck ut out 'til th'
-spring, but, what wid th' frinds Oi'd picked up to hilp me spind ut,
-an' th' clothes, an' th' shows ut costed me three av me clane new bills.
-Comin' back Oi shtopped off at Riverville, an' showed Mike Gillum the
-sivin Oi had lift. 'Yez done well, Dinny,' sez he. 'An' now will yez go
-to th' woods?' 'Oi will,' sez Oi, 'f'r Oi'm tired av ristin'. But Oi'm
-glad Oi wint, an' Oi don't begrudge th' money, f'r sivin is aisier thin
-tin to count an-nyway an' Oi've enough av ut rains f'r a year.' So Oi
-come back an' wuz snug as a bug in a rug, 'til ut's mebbe two wakes ago,
-an' snowin' that day, an' they comed a Frinchy along, an' he sez, 'Oi've
-a noice fat deer hangin'; ut's a matther av a couple av moile from here.
-Av ye'll hilp me cut um up, Oi'll give ye th' shoulders an' rib
-mate--f'r ut's only th' quarters Oi want.' Oi wint along an' we cut up
-th' deer, an' he give me th' mate an' Oi packed ut home. Whin Oi got
-back Oi seen somewan had be'n here. Ut wuz snowin' hard, an' th' thracks
-wuz drifted full loike th' wans me an' th' Frinchy made whin we started
-off to cut up th' deer, so Oi know'd the other had come jist afther we
-lift. I dropped me mate an' run in an' pulled up th' board. Th' tobaccy
-tin wuz impty! Th' thracks headed narth, an' Oi tuck out afther th'
-dirthy spalpeen, but th' snow got worse an' Oi had to turn back. Whin ut
-quit Oi wint to Willow River where Mike Gillum is runnin' a Syndicate
-crew, but he said they wuzn't none av his men gone off th' job. 'Oi'll
-do all Oi kin to thry an' locate th' thafe,' sez he; 'but yez sh'd put
-yer money in th' bank, Dinny.' Well, Oi hurd nawthin' more from him, an'
-this marnin' Oi wint up there ag'in. He'd found out nawthin', an' he sez
-how he don't think ut wuz wan av his min--so Oi comed back, an' th' nixt
-thing Oi knows yez two comed along--ye've th' whole story now, an' ye'll
-know av th' rainy days comes, Dinny O'Sullivan's a-goin' to git wet."
-
-"What d'ye think of yer fine friend, Mike Gillum now?" asked Saginaw Ed,
-breaking a silence that had lasted while they had travelled a mile or so
-through the woods from Denny O'Sullivan's cabin.
-
-"Just the same as I did before," answered Connie, without a moment's
-hesitation. "You don't think Mike Gillum swiped the old man's money, do
-you?"
-
-Saginaw stopped in his tracks and faced the boy wrathfully. "Oh, no! I
-don't think he could possibly have swiped it," he said, with ponderous
-sarcasm. "There ain't no chanct he did--seein' as he was the only one
-that know'd the money was there--an' seein' how the tracks headed
-north--an' seein' how he denied it. It couldn't of be'n him! The old
-man's got his own word fer it that it wasn't."
-
-"If those I. W. W.'s wer'n't locked up safe in jail, I'd think they got
-the money. I know it wasn't Mike Gillum," maintained the boy, stoutly.
-"If you knew Mike you wouldn't think that."
-
-"I don't know him, an' I don't want to know him! It's enough that I know
-Hurley. An' anyone that would claim Hurley was crooked, I wouldn't put
-it beyond him to do nothin' whatever that's disreligious, an' low-down,
-an' onrespectable. He done it! An' him writin' like he done about
-Hurley, _proves_ that he done it--an' that's all they is to it."
-
-Connie saw the uselessness of arguing with the woodsman whose devoted
-loyalty to his boss prevented his seeing any good whatever in the man
-who had sought to cast discredit upon him. "All right," he grinned. "But
-I'm going to find out who did do it, and I bet when I do, it won't be
-Mike Gillum that's to blame."
-
-Saginaw's momentary huff vanished, and he shook his head in resignation,
-as he returned the boy's grin. "I've saw a raft of folks, take it first
-an' last, but never none that was right down as stubborn as what you be.
-But, about findin' out who got the old man's money, you've bit off more
-than you kin chaw. You ain't got enough to go on." A partridge flew up
-with a whirr and settled upon the bare branch of a young birch a few
-yards farther on. Saginaw took careful aim and shot its head off. "I got
-one on you this time, anyhow. That's five fer me, an' four fer you, an'
-it's gittin' too dark to see the sights."
-
-"Guess that's right," admitted the boy. "But I'll get even, when I show
-you who raided the old man's cabin."
-
-"'Spect I'll do a little projektin' 'round myself, if I git time. It
-might be such a thing I'll git _two_ on ye." Thus they engaged in
-friendly banter until the yellow lights that shone from the windows of
-the camp buildings welcomed them across the clearing.
-
-The next day Connie hunted up Frenchy Lamar. He found him in the stable
-carefully removing the ice bangles from the fetlocks of his beloved
-horses. He had spent the morning breaking trail on the tote road.
-
-"Why don't you get yourself some real horses?" teased the boy. "One of
-those log team horses will outweigh the whole four of yours."
-
-"Log team! _Sacre!_ Dem hosses fat, lak wan peeg! Dey go 'bout so fas'
-lak wan porkypine! Dey drag de log 'roun' de woods. Dey got for have de
-ice road for haul de beeg load to de rollway. But, me--I'm tak' ma four
-gran' hoss, I'm heetch dem oop, I'm climb on ma sleigh, I'm crack ma
-wheep, an--monjee! Dem hoss she jomp 'long de tote road, de bells dey
-ring lak de Chreestmas tam, de snow fly oop from de hoof, an' dem hoss
-dey ron t'rough de woods so fas' lak de deer! Me--I ain' trade wan
-leetle chonk ma hoss's tail for all de beeg fat log team w'at ees een de
-woods."
-
-"You're all right, Frenchy," laughed the boy. "But, tell me, why didn't
-you slip me a chunk of that venison you brought in the other day?"
-
-The Frenchman glanced about swiftly. "_Non!_ W'at you mean--de
-_venaison_? I ain' keel no deer--me. Hurley she say you ain' kin keel
-no deer w'en de season ees close."
-
-"Sure, I know you didn't kill it. But you brought it in. What I want to
-know is, who did kill it?"
-
-"I ain' breeng no _venaison_ een dis camp since de season git shut."
-
-"Oh, you took it to Camp Two! Slue Foot shot the deer, did he?"
-
-"How you fin' dat out? Hurley ain' lak I'm tak' de _venaison_ to Camp
-Two, no mor' lak Camp Wan. She fin' dat out she git mad, I'm t'ink she
-bus' me wan on ma nose."
-
-"Hurley don't know anything about it," reassured the boy. "And I'll give
-you my word he never will find out from me. I just happen to want to
-know who sent you after that meat. I won't squeal on either one of you.
-You can trust me, can't you?"
-
-"_Oui_," answered the teamster, without hesitation. "You pass de
-word--dat good. Slue Foot, she keel dat deer wan tam, an' hang heem oop
-to freeze. Wan day she say, 'Frenchy, you go rat ovaire on de wes' line
-an' git de deer wat I'm got hangin'.' I ain' lak dat mooch, but Slue
-Foot say: 'She startin' for snow an' you track git cover oop. Me an'
-you we have wan gran' feast in de office, an' Hurley she ain' gon fin
-dat out. Wan leetle ol' man she got cabin 'bout two mile nort' of where
-de deer hang by de creek where four beeg maple tree stan' close beside.
-You git de ol' man to help you cut oop de meat, an' you breeng de hine
-qua'ter, an' give heem de res'. He ees poor ol' man, an' lak to git som'
-meat.' I'm t'ink dat pret' good t'ing Slue Foot lak to giv' som' poor
-ol' man de meat, so I gon an' done lak he says."
-
-"It was snowing that day, was it?"
-
-"_Oui_, she snow hard all day. I'm git back 'bout noon, an' ma tracks
-ees snow full."
-
-"Was Slue Foot here when you got back?"
-
-"_Oui_, an' dat night we hav' de gran' suppaire. Slue Foot say dat
-better you ain' say nuttin' 'bout dat deer, 'cause Hurley she git mad
-lak t'undaire. I'm tell you 'bout dat 'cause I'm know you ain' gon' try
-for mak' no trouble. Plenty deer in de woods, anyhow."
-
-Connie nodded. "Yes, but orders are orders. If I were you I wouldn't
-have anything to do with deer killed out of season. Suppose Hurley had
-found out about that deer instead of me. You'd have been in a nice fix.
-When Hurley gives an order he generally sees that it's obeyed."
-
-"Dat rat," agreed Frenchy, with alacrity. "Dat better I ain' got Hurley
-mad on me, ba goss!"
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIV
-
-A PAIR OF SOCKS
-
-
-A week later Connie was roused from his desk in the little office by the
-sound of bells. There was a loud "Whoa!" and Frenchy, wearing his long
-stocking cap of brilliant red yarn, and clad in his gayest mackinaw,
-pulled up his four-horse tote-team with a flourish before the door, and
-stepped smiling from the sleigh.
-
-"W'at you t'ink, now, _m's'u l'infant_? S'pose I'm trade ma gran' team
-for de beeg fat log hoss, de cook she don' git no supply for wan week.
-Den, mebbe-so you got to eat porkypine an' spruce tea. Me--I'm back
-to-mor' night, wit ma gran' tote-team, _bien!_"
-
-Connie laughed. "I guess you've got the right team for the job, Frenchy.
-But it seems to me you picked out a bad day for the trail." It had
-turned suddenly warm during the night, and the boy indicated a shallow
-pool of muddy water that had collected in the depression before the
-door.
-
-"De snow she melt fas' w'ere she all tromp down an' dirty, but on de
-tote road w'ere she w'ite an' clean she ain' melt so fas'." He paused
-and cocked an eye skyward. "I'm git to Dogfish before she melt an'
-tonight she gon' for turn col', an' tomor', ba goss, I'm com' back on de
-ice, lak de log road."
-
-[Illustration: "WHAT'S THIS?" ASKED THE BOY, PUSHING UP A SMALL BUNDLE.]
-
-"What's this?" asked the boy, picking up a small bundle done up in brown
-wrapping paper that lay upon the seat of the sleigh.
-
-"Oh, dat wan pair wool sock Slue Foot sen' down to Corky Dyer for ke'p
-he's feet wa'm. I'm mak' dat go on de, w'at you call, de express."
-
-Connie picked up the package and regarded it with apparent unconcern.
-"Who's Corky Dyer?" he asked, casually.
-
-"Corky Dyer, she ke'p de s'loon down to Brainard. She frien' for Slue
-Foot, lak wan brudder."
-
-As Frenchy's glance strayed to Steve, who came hurrying toward them with
-his list of supplies from the cook's camp, Connie's foot suddenly
-slipped, the package dropped from his hand squarely into the middle of
-the puddle of dirty water, and the next instant the boy came heavily
-down upon it with his knee.
-
-"O-o-o-o!" wailed the excitable Frenchman, dancing up and down. "Now I'm
-ketch, w'at you call, de t'undaire! Slue Foot, she git mad on me now, ba
-goss! She say, 'You mak' dat leetle package los' I'm bre'k you in two!'"
-
-Connie recovered the package, from which the wet paper was bursting in a
-dozen places. He glanced at it ruefully for a moment, and then, as if
-struck with a happy thought, he grinned. "We'll fix that all right," he
-said reassuringly, and turned toward the door.
-
-"_Non_," protested Frenchy, dolefully, "dat ain' no good, to put on de
-new _papier_. De sock she got wet, an' de new _papier_ she bus', too."
-
-"You just hold your horses----"
-
-"I ain't got for hol' dem hosses. Dey broke to stan' so long I want
-'em."
-
-"Come on in the office, then," laughed the boy, "and I'll show you how
-we'll fix it." Frenchy followed him in, and Connie opened the wanagan
-chest. "We'll just make a new package, socks and all, and I'll copy the
-address off on it, and Corky Dyer's feet will keep warm this winter just
-the same."
-
-"_Oui! Oui!_" approved the Frenchman, his face once more all smiles. He
-patted the boy admiringly upon the back. "You got de gran' head on you
-for t'ink."
-
-"You don't need to say anything about this to Slue Foot," cautioned the
-boy.
-
-The Frenchman laughed. "Ha! Ha! You t'ink I'm gon' hont de trouble? Slue
-Foot she git mad jes' de sam'. She lak for chance to growl. I tell him
-'bout dat, I'm t'ink he bus' me in two."
-
-It was but the work of a few minutes to duplicate the small bundle, and
-the teamster took it from the boy's hand with a sigh of relief. "So
-long!" he called gaily, as he climbed into the sleigh and gathered up
-his reins with an air. "Som' tam' you lak you git de fas' ride, you com'
-long wit' me." His long whip cracked, and the impatient tote-team sprang
-out onto the trail.
-
-Footsteps sounded outside the door, and Connie hurriedly thrust the
-package into his turkey. Saginaw entered, and, with a vast assumption of
-carelessness, walked to the wall and took down his rifle. "Guess I
-might's well take a siyou out into the brush an' see what fer meat they
-is stirrin'."
-
-"Want a partner?"
-
-"Sure," answered the man, "I wish't you could go 'long, but I don't
-guess you better. The log roads is softenin' up, an' I give orders to
-keep the teams offen 'em. They ain't nothin'll sp'ile a log road like
-teamin' on 'em soft. The teamsters won't have nothin' to do, an' they'll
-be hornin' in on ye all day, to git stuff out of the wanagan. Hurley an'
-Lon's both up to Camp Two, so I guess yer elected to stick on the job."
-
-"That's so," answered the boy, "but, I bet the real reason you don't
-want me is because you're afraid I'd kill more game than you do."
-
-"Well, ye might, at that," laughed Saginaw. "But we'll have plenty of
-chances to try out that part of it. I'm gittin' old, but I ain't so old
-but what I kin see the sights of a rifle yet." He drew the rackets from
-under his bunk and passed out, and as Connie watched him swing across
-the clearing, he grinned:
-
-"You're hiking out to see if you can't hang a little evidence up against
-Mike Gillum, and that's why you didn't want me along. Go to it, old
-hand, but unless I miss my guess when you come in tonight you'll find
-out that your game has turned into crow."
-
-Saginaw had prophesied rightly. The wanagan did a land-office business
-among the idle teamsters, and at no time during the day did Connie dare
-to open the package that lay concealed in his turkey. Darkness came, and
-the boy lighted the lamp. The teamsters continued to straggle in and
-out, and, just as the boy was about to lock the office and go to supper,
-Saginaw returned.
-
-"What luck?" inquired Connie.
-
-"Never got a decent shot all day," replied the man, as he put away his
-rifle and snow-shoes. "I got somethin' to tell you, though, when we've
-et supper. Chances is, Hurley an' Lon'll be late if they ain't back by
-now. We kin powwow in the office onless they come, an' if they do, we
-kin mosey out an' hunt us up a log."
-
-Supper over, the two returned to the office and seated themselves beside
-the stove. Saginaw filled his pipe and blew a great cloud of blue smoke
-toward the ceiling. "I swung 'round by Willer River," he imparted, after
-a few shorter puffs. Connie waited for him to proceed. "Ye mind, the old
-man said how it was a Frenchy that got him to help cut up that deer?
-Well, they's a raft of French workin' up there fer the Syndicate."
-
-"Any of 'em been deer hunting lately?" asked the boy, innocently.
-
-"Gosh sakes! How'd ye s'pose I kin tell? If I'd asked 'em they'd all
-said 'no.' I jes' wanted to see if they was Frenchmens there."
-
-Connie nodded. "That looks bad," he admitted.
-
-"Yes, an' what's comin' looks worst. On the way back, I swung 'round by
-the old Irishman's. He hadn't heard nothin' more from this here Mike
-Gillum, so he went up ag'in yesterday to see him. Gillum claimed he
-hadn't found out nothin', an' then the old man told him how he was
-broke an' needed grub to winter through on. Well, Gillum up an' dug down
-in his pocket an' loant him a hundred dollars!"
-
-"Good for Mike Gillum!" exclaimed Connie. "That's what I call a man!"
-
-"What d'ye mean--call a man?" cried Saginaw, disgustedly. "Look a-here,
-you don't s'pose fer a minute that if Gillum hadn't of got the old man's
-pile he'd of loant him no hundred dollars, do ye? How's he ever goin' to
-pay it back? Gillum knows, an' everyone knows that's got any sense, that
-what huntin' an' fishin' an' trappin' that old man kin do ain't only
-goin' to make him a livin', at the best. He ain't never goin' to git
-enough ahead to pay back no hundred dollars."
-
-"So much the more credit to Gillum, then. What he did was to dig down
-and give him a hundred."
-
-"Give him a hundred! An' well he could afford to, seein' how he kep'
-thirty-four hundred fer himself. Don't you think fer a minute, kid, that
-any one that's low-down enough to blackguard a man like Hurley would
-give away a hundred dollars--he'd see a man starve first. It's plain as
-the nose on yer face. We've got a clear case, an' I'm a-goin' to git
-out a search warrant ag'in' him, 'fore he gits a chanct to send that
-money out of the woods. He's got it, an' I know it!"
-
-Connie smiled broadly. "He must have got it while we were at supper,
-then."
-
-Saginaw regarded him curiously. "What d'ye mean--supper?" he asked.
-
-For answer the boy crossed to his bunk, and, reaching into his turkey,
-drew out the soggy package. "Do you know who Corky Dyer is?" he asked,
-with seeming irrelevance.
-
-"Sure, I know who Corky Dyer is--an' no good of him, neither. He lives
-in Brainard, an' many's the lumberjack that's the worse off fer knowin'
-him. But, what's Corky Dyer got to do with Mike Gillum an' the old man's
-money?"
-
-"Nothing, with Mike Gillum. I was only thinking I hope Corky can keep
-his feet warm this winter, I sent him down a nice pair of wool socks
-today."
-
-Saginaw bent closer, and stared at the boy intently. "Be ye feelin' all
-right, son?" he asked, with genuine concern.
-
-"Sure, I feel fine. As I was going on to say, Slue Foot felt sorry for
-Corky Dyer's feet, so he picked out a pair of nice warm socks----"
-
-"Thought ye said----"
-
-The boy ignored the interruption, "and gave them to Frenchy to send to
-Corky by express. When Frenchy stopped here for his list I happened to
-pick up the package and while I was looking at it my foot slipped and I
-dropped it in a mud puddle and then fell on it. I hated to think of poor
-Corky wearing those dirty wet socks, and I didn't want Frenchy to get an
-awful bawling out from Slue Foot for not taking care of his package, so
-I just took a new pair out of the wanagan and sent them to him. I guess,
-now, we'd better open this package and wring these wet ones out, or
-they'll spoil."
-
-Saginaw continued to stare as the boy drew his knife and cut the cord.
-Then he exploded angrily: "What in thunder d'ye s'pose I care about
-Corky Dyer's socks? An' what's his socks got to do with gittin' old
-Denny O'Sullivan's money back fer him? I thought ye was a better sport
-than that--Ye see yer fine friend's got cornered, an' right away ye
-switch off an' begin talkin' about Slue Foot, an' Frenchy, an' Corky
-Dyer's wet socks! Fer my part, Corky Dyer's feet could git wet an'
-froze fer six foot above 'em--an' it would be a good thing fer the
-timber country, at that!"
-
-As Saginaw raved on, Connie unrolled the grey woollen socks and smoothed
-them out upon his knee. Saginaw watched, scowling disapproval as he
-talked. "They's somethin' in one of 'em," he said with sudden interest.
-"What's it got in it?"
-
-Connie regarded him gravely. "I don't know, for sure--I haven't looked,
-but I think maybe it's Denny O'Sullivan's missing bills."
-
-Saginaw Ed's jaw dropped, and his hands gripped the chair arms till the
-knuckles whitened, as the boy thrust his hand into the damp sock. "Yes,
-that's what it is, all right," he said, as he drew forth the missing
-bills. "They're not quite as new and clean, maybe, as they were, but
-they're the ones--see the little notches in the corners, just like the
-marks on his traps."
-
-Saginaw stared in silence while the boy finished counting: "--five, six,
-seven." Then, as full realization dawned upon him, he burst forth, and
-the roars of his laughter filled the little log office. "Well, dog my
-cats!" he howled, when at length he found his voice. "'My foot
-slipped,' says he, 'an' I dropped it in a mud puddle an' fell on it!'"
-He reached over and pounded the boy on the back with a huge hand. "You
-doggone little cuss! Here you set all the time, with the missin' bills
-tucked away safe an' sound in yer turkey--an' me trompin' my legs off
-tryin' to find out what's became of 'em!" He thrust out his hand. "Ye
-sure outguessed me, kid, an' I don't begrudge it. When it comes to
-headwork, yer the captain--with a capital K. An' believe me! I'd give a
-hull lot to be where I could see Corky Dyer's face when he unwrops that
-package of socks!"
-
-Connie laughed. "So you see," he said, as he shook the extended hand,
-"we've got a clear case, all right--but not against Mike Gillum."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XV
-
-HURLEY PREPARES FOR THE DRIVE
-
-
-The two camps on Dogfish hummed with activity. Both Saginaw Ed and Slue
-Foot Magee had their crews "laying 'em down" with an efficiency that
-delighted the heart of Hurley, who came into the little office of Camp
-One after an inspection of the rollways, fairly radiating approval and
-good humour. That evening around the roaring stove the big walking boss
-lighted his pipe, and tilting back in his chair, contentedly wriggled
-his toes in the woollen socks, cocked comfortably upon the edge of his
-bunk, the while he held forth upon the merits of his crews to Lon Camden
-and Saginaw Ed and Connie Morgan who shared the quarters with him:
-
-"The best crews ever went into the woods!" he began, "barrin' none. I've
-logged from Westconsin to the coast, an' never I seen the like. It's
-partly because the men is doin' what they never thought to be doin'
-again--layin' down white pine. An' it's partly the bosses, an' the cook,
-an' the scaler, an' the clerk. I'll show the owner a profit this year
-that'll make him fergit last year's loss like a busted shoestring. I've
-twict as many logs on the rollways of each camp as I had altogether last
-year."
-
-Lon Camden shook his head: "Yeh, that's so, Hurley, but logs on the
-rollways ain't logs at the mills. Ye had enough banked along the river
-last year to show a good profit--an' ye can bet yer last dollar the
-Syndicate's foulin' our drive wasn't no accident."
-
-"But our brands was on the logs," insisted Hurley. "Even the Syndicate
-wouldn't dare to saw branded logs."
-
-The scaler shook his head doubtfully: "I do'no, boss, some one sawed
-'em. To my certain knowledge there was better than two million feet on
-the landin's when we broke 'em out--an' two million feet of white pine
-ort to showed a good profit."
-
-Hurley nodded, glumly: "Sure it ort," he agreed. "I seen the logs myself
-on the rollways, an' when they got to the mills, the boom scale was--"
-The big boss paused and scratched his head thoughtfully, "--well, I
-ain't got no noodle fer figgers, an' I disremember jest what it was, but
-it was short enough so it et up the profits an' handed us a
-fourteen-thousan'-dollar loss, or thereabouts. An' me with the owner way
-up in Alasky, an' thinkin' mebbe I done him out of his money. 'Twas a
-long head I had when I stuck out fer a two-year contrack, an' this year
-if we don't roll eight million feet in the river my name ain't Jake
-Hurley!"
-
-"Yes," broke in Saginaw Ed, "an' if we make the same rate of loosin',
-the loss this year'll figger somewheres up around fifty thousan'."
-
-Hurley's eyes grew hard "They ain't a-goin' to be no loss this year!" he
-replied savagely. "The Syndicate had more logs in Dogfish than me last
-year, an' a bigger crew, an' more white-water birlers amongst 'em, so
-Long Leaf Olson, the foreman of the Syndicate camp, ordered me to take
-the rear drive. I tuk it--an' be the time I'd got through cardin' the
-ledges, an' sackin' the bars, an' shovin' off jill-pokes, the main drive
-was sorted an' the logs in the logans, an' I was handed me boom scale at
-the mills. But, this year it's different. I'll have agin as many logs
-as them, an' two crews, an' when we git to the mills I'll have men of my
-own at the sortin' gap."
-
-"If they was dams on Dogfish the rear drive wouldn't be so bad," opined
-Saginaw.
-
-"If they was dams on Dogfish, we'd be worse off than ever," growled
-Hurley, "because the Syndicate would own the dams, an' we'd stand a fat
-show of sluicin' anything through 'em. No sir! We'll go out with the
-ice, an' me on the head of the drive, an' if Long Leaf fouls us, I won't
-be carin'. I see through the game he done me last year--keepin' me on
-the rear, an' it worked like this: Dogfish runs out with a rush an' then
-falls as quick as it run out. All the logs that ain't into the big river
-on the run-out is left fer the rear drive, an', believe me, we had a
-plenty dry-rollin' to do. For why? Because that thievin' Long Leaf
-nipped every jam before it started, an' left me with a month's work
-gittin' the stranded logs out of Dogfish. This year, it'll be me that's
-boss of the main drive, an' if a jam starts I'll let 'em pile up--an'
-I'll see that one starts, too--that'll back the water up behind 'em an'
-give the rear plenty of river to float down on, then when everything's
-caught up, I'll put some canned thunder in under her an' away we go to
-the next jam."
-
-"Ye' talk like ye could jam 'em whenever ye wanted to," said Lon Camden.
-
-Hurley regarded him gravely: "It's twenty-three miles from here to the
-big river. There'll be a jam ten miles below here, an' another, one mile
-above the mouth." The three stared at him in surprise. "You see," the
-boss continued, with evident satisfaction in their astonishment, "when I
-got the boom scale last summer, it turned me sick. I made out me report
-an' sent it to Alasky, an' then I went home to Pine Hook an' hoed me
-garden a day, an' put in the next one choppin' firewood. It was after
-supper that day an' the kiddies to bed, the wife comes out to where I
-was an' sets down on the choppin' log beside me. I smokes me pipe, an'
-don't pay her no mind, 'cause I was sore in the heart of me. After while
-she lays a hand on the sleeve of me shirt. 'Jake,' she says, 'all the
-winter an' spring the childer gabbles about the fun they'll be havin'
-when daddy comes home.'" The man paused and grinned, slyly. "It's like a
-woman to begin at the backwards of a thing an' work up to the front. I
-bet when one gits to heaven it'll be the health of Adam an' Eve they'll
-be inquirin' about furst, instead of John L. Sullivan, roight out.
-Anyway, that's what she says, an' I replies in the negative by sayin'
-nothin'. 'An' here you be'n home two days,' she goes on, an' stops, like
-they's enough be'n said.
-
-"'An' I've hoed the garden, an' cut the firewood,' says I. 'What would
-you be havin' me do?'" Again Hurley grinned: "I dropped a match in the
-bung of an empty gasoline bar'l onct, that had laid in the sun behind
-the store, thinkin' to see if it would make a good rain bar'l. It
-didn't. Part of it made fair kindlin's, though, an' I was out an' around
-in a week. Giant powder, gasoline, an' wimmin is all safe enough if ye
-don't handle 'em careless--but, if ye do, ye git quick action--an'
-plenty of it.
-
-"'Do!' she says, in the same tone of voice used by the gasoline bar'l
-that day. 'Well, if you can't think of nothin' else to do, give the poor
-darlints a beatin' just to let 'em know you're around!' Then she gits up
-an' starts fer the house." Hurley held a match to his pipe and puffed
-deeply for a few moments, "I never believed much in signs," he grinned,
-"but they's some signs I heed--so I laughed. The laugh come from the
-throat only, an' not from the heart, an' at the sound of it she turned,
-an' then she come back slow an' set down agin on the choppin' log. 'Tell
-me what's wrong, Jake,' she says. 'Two kin carry a load better than
-one.' So I up an' told her, an' she set for quite a while an' looked out
-over the slashin'.
-
-"'Is that all?' she says, after a bit. 'Is that what ye've be'n hoein'
-an' choppin' over fer two days, an' gittin' madder with every whack--an'
-not payin' no heed to the important things that's been pilin' up to be
-done.' 'What's to be done?' says I, 'if it ain't the wood an' the
-garden?' 'It's the first time ye ever come back from the woods an'
-didn't see fer yerself what's to be done,' she says. 'With two wheels
-busted off Jimmy's tote wagon, an' Paddy's logs in the crick an' on his
-landin's waitin' fer daddy to show him how to build his dam an' sluice,
-an' Jimmy with the timber all out fer his Injun stockade, an' waitin'
-fer daddy to tell him does the logs go in crossways or up an' down!'
-
-"So the next week I put in loggin' on the crick behind the pig pen. We
-put in a dam an' sluice, an' run a season's cut through, an' sorted 'em
-an' boomed 'em, an even rigged a goat-power saw-mill that would jerk
-the logs out of the crick but wouldn't cut 'em. An' by gosh, when the
-week was gone I had some good schemes in me own head, an' takin' five
-men with me, I went off up Dogfish an' studied the stream, an' this
-spring they'll be jams where I want jams! An' I'm the bucko that'll be
-on the head end, an' I'll bust 'em when I want to!"
-
-"You ain't obstructed navigation, have ye?" asked Lon, with concern.
-"Cause if you have the Syndicate'll take it up in a minute, an' they'll
-law ye out of ten seasons' profit. Buckin' the Syndicate has cost many a
-little feller his pile. If they can't steal ye poor, they'll law ye
-poor--an' it's the same thing fer the small operator."
-
-"Never you fret about the lawin', Lon. What I an' me five hearties put
-into Dogfish last summer looks like drift piles from a summer rain, an'
-the same charge of canned thunder that busts the jam will blow the
-log-an' rock foundations of the drift piles to smithereens."
-
-Lon smoked in silence for a few moments, as though pondering the boss's
-words, and as he smoked his lips gradually expanded into a grin of
-approval. Hurley noted the smile: "An' it all come of me workin' out
-the problems of a six-year old kid on the little crick behind the pig
-pen. An' what's more, I've got some of the problems of the big river
-more clear in me noodle."
-
-Saginaw Ed winked at Connie; and leaning over, whispered into the boy's
-ear: "Hurley's done a smart thing," he confided, "an' it'll hurry the
-drive out of Dogfish. But he ain't got to the meat of the trouble--an'
-that's up to you an' me."
-
-As the season progressed Hurley had increased his crews until each
-numbered one hundred and twenty-five men, and the daily work of these
-men was an unceasing source of interest to Connie. Every moment that
-could be spared from his duties, the boy was out among them, swinging an
-axe with the swampers, riding the huge loads of logs that slipped
-smoothly over the iced log roads on their trips to the landings,
-standing beside Lon Camden as he scaled the incoming loads, or among the
-sawyers, watching some mighty pine crash to earth with a roar of
-protest.
-
-"I never seen a clerk before that ye could prize away from the office
-stove with a pickpole," remarked Lon Camdon, one day, as he and Hurley
-watched the boy riding toward them balanced upon the top log of a huge
-load.
-
-"He'll know more about loggin' be spring," replied the boss, "than many
-an' old lumberjack. It's the makin' of a fine boss the kid has."
-
-"He kin scale as good as me, a'ready," admitted Lon. "An' that other
-kid, too--why just from trottin' 'round with this one he's got so he
-shows some real stuff. If ever I picked a kid fer a bad egg it was him."
-
-"Me too," admitted Hurley. "But Connie stuck up for him, even after he'd
-throw'd in with the I. W. W's. Steve kin have anything I've got," he
-added, after a pause. "He saved me life, an' after the drive I'm goin'
-to take him home with me up to Pine Hook, instead of turnin' him loose
-to go to the bad around such dumps as Corky Dyer's where I picked him
-up. He'd got a wrong start. It's like he was follerin' a log road, an'
-got switched off onto a cross-haul--but, he's back on the main road
-again, an' it's Jake Hurley'll keep him there."
-
-"He's all right, an' the men like him--but he ain't got the head the
-other one has."
-
-"Sure he ain't!" agreed Hurley. "You kin take it from me, Lon, before
-that there Connie is thirty, he'll be ownin' timber of his own."
-
-"I'd almost bet money on it," said Saginaw Ed, who had come up in time
-to hear Hurley's prophecy. "Say boss, them irons come in fer the cook's
-bateau; I expect we better put to work on it. Month from now, an' we'll
-be listenin' night an' day fer the boomin' of the ice."
-
-The boss assented: "Hop to it, fer we don't want no delay when this
-drive starts."
-
-Saginaw turned toward the blacksmith shop to give his orders regarding
-the scow, in which the cook would follow the drive and furnish hot meals
-for the rivermen. His eye fell upon Connie as the boy slid from the
-load: "Better get over to the office, son," he grinned. "Slue Foot's
-over there just a-meltin' the snow, 'cause you ain't around to sell him
-a plug of terbacker." The boy joined him, and Saginaw cast a look at the
-rollways: "Lots of logs on the landin's, son," he remarked.
-
-"Seven million, three hundred thousand feet, up to last night," said the
-boy proudly. "Everything looks fine."
-
-"Fine as frog hair, son--which some folks holds is too fine to last."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"Well nothin' that I could name--only, what you said about Slue Foot's
-bein' mixed up with the I. W. W. It's like I told you, them birds gits
-jobs just so they kin git a chanct to distroy property. They don't want
-to work, an' they don't want no one else to work. We caught three of 'em
-tryin' to burn the stables, which is about their size, an' if the
-sheriff served Doc's warrants, I guess they're in jail now. But how do
-we know that them three was _all_ the I. W. W.'s in the outfit? An' how
-do we know that Slue Foot ain't plottin' some move that'll put a crimp
-in us somehow er other?"
-
-The boy smiled: "I've thought of that, too," he answered. "But I don't
-think there is much danger from the I. W. W.'s. I've been watching Slue
-Foot, and I know that he's not going to start anything. He was glad to
-get those I. W. W.'s off the works. You see he's got a fish of his own
-to fry. He belongs to the I. W. W. just because it's natural for him to
-throw in with crooks and criminals, but he's so crooked himself that he
-won't even play square with his gang of crooks. He saw a chance to make
-some crooked money for himself, so he threw his friends over. We're all
-right, because the more logs we put into the river the bigger his graft
-is. And we've got him right where we want him. We can nail him in a
-minute, if we want to, for swiping the old Irishman's money--but I don't
-want to spring that unless I have to until I get the goods on the
-Syndicate."
-
-Saginaw nodded: "I guess that's good dope, all right. But, if I was you,
-I'd git a line on his scheme as soon as I could. You can't never tell
-what'll happen in the woods--an' when it does, it's most generally
-always somethin' different."
-
-As the boy continued his way to the office, after parting from Saginaw
-at the blacksmith shop, he decided to carry out Saginaw's suggestion at
-once. In fact, for a week or ten days Connie had been watching for an
-opportunity to force Slue Foot to show his hand. And now he decided, the
-time had come. There was no one in sight; the boss of Camp Two had
-evidently gone into the office.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVI
-
-SLUE FOOT "COMES ACROSS"
-
-
-As Connie pushed open the door he was greeted with a growl: "It's a
-doggone wonder ye wouldn't stay 'round an' tend to business onct in a
-while! Here I be'n waitin' half an' hour fer to git a plug of terbacker,
-an' you off kihootin' 'round the woods----"
-
-"Save your growling, 'til someone's round to hear it," grinned the boy,
-as he produced the key to the chest. "Here's your tobacco, twenty cents'
-worth--makes thirty-two dollars and sixty cents, all told."
-
-"Thirty-two sixty!" Slue Foot glared: "Thought Hurley's outfits never
-gouged the men on the wanagan?" he sneered. "My tab ain't over
-twenty-five dollars at the outside."
-
-"Get it out of your system," retorted the boy. "You can't bluff me.
-Thirty-two sixty's down here. Thirty-two sixty's right--and you know
-it's right! What's on your mind? You didn't walk clear down from Camp
-Two for a twenty-cent plug of tobacco, when you've got the biggest part
-of a carton in your turkey."
-
-With his back to the stove, the boss scowled at the boy! "Smart kid,
-ain't you?" The scowl faded from his face, an' he repeated: "Smart
-kid--an' that's why I tuk a notion to ye, an'--'" he paused abruptly and
-crossing to the window, took a position that commanded the clearing.
-"--an' let ye in on some extry money."
-
-Connie nodded: "Yes, and it's about time you were loosening up on the
-proposition--you haven't let me in yet."
-
-"Ain't let ye in!" exclaimed Slue Foot. "What ye mean, 'ain't let ye
-in'? How about shadin' the cut?"
-
-"Shading the cut," exclaimed the boy, with contempt. "What's a couple of
-hundred dollars? That's a piker's job--Injun stealing! You promised to
-let me in on something big--now, come across."
-
-Slue Foot stared at him: "Say, who's runnin' this, you? Yer all-fired
-cocky fer a kid. When I was your age a couple hundred dollars looked
-big as a township o' timber to me."
-
-"Well, it don't to me," snapped the boy. "And you might as well come
-across."
-
-Slue Foot advanced one threatening step: "Who d'ye think ye're talkin'
-to?" he roared. "I'll break ye in two!"
-
-"And when I break, you break," smiled the boy. "Let me tell you this,
-Slue Foot Magee, I've got these books fixed so that if anything happens
-to me, your nose goes under, and all that's left is a string of
-bubbles--see? I've been doing some figuring lately, and I've decided the
-time's about right for me to get in on the other. According to the talk,
-it will be twenty or thirty days yet before the break-up. But, suppose
-the break-up should come early this year--early and sudden? You'd have
-your hands full and couldn't waste time on me. And besides you'd never
-let me in then, anyway. You're only letting me in because I'm supposed
-to furnish the dope on what's going on here. I'm playing safe--see the
-point?"
-
-Slue Foot glowered: "An' what if I've changed my mind about lettin' ye
-in?" he asked truculently.
-
-"Oh, then I'll just naturally sell your cut-shading scheme out to
-Hurley and his boss for what I can get--and let you stand the gaff."
-
-Slue Foot's fists clenched, a big vein stood out upon his reddened
-forehead, and he seemed to swell visibly: "You--you'd double-cross me,
-would you?"
-
-"Sure, I would," said the boy, "if you don't come through. Look here,
-Slue Foot, business is business. I wouldn't trust you as far as I can
-throw a saw log, and you may as well get that right now."
-
-"How do I know you won't double-cross me on the big deal?" asked the
-man.
-
-"Matter of figures," answered Connie. "You don't suppose Hurley and his
-boss would pay me as much as we can get out of the logs do you? Of
-course they won't--but they might agree to pay me as much as I'll get
-out of the cut-shading--especially if I tell them that you've got a
-bigger game up your sleeve. You might as well be reasonable. It'll be
-better all around if you and I understand each other. They're beginning
-to talk in here about the drive. If I don't know what your scheme is,
-how am I to know what to remember? I can't remember everything they
-say, and if I'm onto the game I can pick out what'll do us good, and
-not bother with the rest."
-
-Once more Slue Foot took up his place by the window, and for some
-minutes the only sound in the little office was the ticking of the alarm
-clock. Finally the man spoke: "I figgered you was smart all
-right--smarter'n the run of kids. But I didn't figger you could
-out-figger me--or believe me, I'd of laid off of ye." The boss of Camp
-Two sat and scowled at the boy for several minutes. Then he spoke,
-sullenly at first, but as he warmed to his topic, the sullenness gave
-place to a sort of crafty enthusiasm--a fatuous pride in his cleverly
-planned scheme of fraud. "I was goin' to let ye in anyhow, so I s'pose
-it might's well be now as later. But, git this, right on the start: ye
-ain't bluffed me into takin' ye in, an' ye ain't scared me into it.
-You've augered me into it by common sense ... what ye said about they
-might come a sudden thaw, an' we'd be too busy to git together--an'
-about you knowin' what to remember of the talk that goes on here.
-
-"It's like this: The logs is paint-branded, an' the mark of this outfit
-is the block-an'-ball in red on the butt end. They're branded on the
-landin's, an' I done the markin' myself. Last year Hurley inspected 'em
-an' so did Lon, an' they know the brands showed up big an' bright an'
-sassy. But when them logs reached the booms an' was sorted they
-wasn't near as many of them wearin' the red block-an'-ball as
-when they started--an' the difference is what I split up with the
-Syndicate--boom-toll free!"
-
-"You mean," asked the boy, "that the Syndicate men changed the brands,
-or painted them out and painted their own over them?"
-
-Slue Foot sneered. "Ye're pretty smart--some ways. But ye ain't smart
-enough to change a red block-an'-ball to a green tripple X. An' as fer
-paintin' over 'em, why if a log hit the big river with a brand painted
-out they'd be a howl go up that would rock the big yaller ball on top of
-the capital. No sir, it takes brains to make money loggin'. The big ones
-has stole and grabbed up into the millions--an' they do it accordin' to
-law--because they've got the money to make the law an' twist it to suit
-theirselves. They put up thousands fer lobbys an' legislaters, an' fer
-judges an' juries, an' they drag down millions. The whole timber game's
-a graft. The big operators grab water rights, an' timber rights, an'
-they even grab the rivers. An' they do it legal because they own the
-dummies that makes the laws. The little operator ain't got no show. If
-he don't own his own timber he has to take what he can get in stumpage
-contracks, an' whether he owns it or not they git him on water-tolls,
-an' when he hits the river there's boom-tolls an' sortin'-tolls, an' by
-the time he's got his logs to the mills an' sold accordin' to the boom
-scale he ain't got nawthin' left, but his britches--an' lucky to have
-them. All business is crooked. If everyone was honest they wouldn't be
-no millionaires. If a man's got a million, he's a crook. It ain't no
-worse fer us little ones to steal agin' the law, than it is fer the big
-ones to steal accordin' to law." Fairly started upon his favourite
-theme, Slue Foot worked himself into a perfect rage as he ranted on.
-"This here outfit's a little outfit," he continued. "It ain't got no
-show, nohow. I seen the chanct to git in on the graft an' I grabbed
-it--if I hadn't, the Syndicate would have had it all. An' besides I got
-a chance to git square with Hurley. They's two kinds of folks in the
-world--them that has, an' them that hain't. Them that has, has because
-they've retch out an' grabbed, an' them that hain't, hain't because
-they wasn't smart enough to hang onto what they did have." Connie
-listened with growing disgust to the wolfish diatribe. Slue Foot's eyes
-blazed as he drove his yellow fangs deep into his tobacco plug. "But
-people's wakin' up to their rights," he continued. "There's the
-Socialists an' the I. W. W.'s, they're partly right, an' partly wrong.
-The Socialists wants, as near as I kin make out, a equal distribution o'
-wealth--that ain't so bad, except that there's only a few of 'em, an'
-they'd be doin' all the work to let a lot of others that don't do
-nawthin', in on their share of the dividin'. What's the use of me
-a-workin' so someone else that don't help none gits a equal share? An'
-the I. W. W.'s is about as bad. They try to bust up everything, an'
-wreck, an' smash, an' tear down--that's all right, fer as it goes--but,
-what's it goin' to git 'em? Where do they git off at? They ain't
-figgered themselves into no profit by what they do. What's it goin' to
-git me if I burn down a saw-mill? I don't git the mill, do I? No--an'
-neither don't they. What I'm after is gittin' it off them that's got it,
-an' lettin' it stick to me. I ain't worryin' about no one else. It's
-every man fer hisself--an' I'm fer _me!_" The boss prodded himself in
-the chest, as he emphasized the last word. "An' if you want yourn, you'd
-better stick with me--we'll gather."
-
-It was with difficulty that Connie masked the loathing he felt for this
-man whose creed was more despicable even than the creed of the organized
-enemies of society, for Slue Foot unhesitatingly indorsed all their
-viciousness, but discarded even their lean virtues.
-
-For three years the boy's lot had been cast among men--rough men of the
-great outland. He had known good men and bad men, but never had he known
-a man whom he so utterly despised as this Slue Foot Magee. The bad men
-he had know were defiant in their badness, they flaunted the law to its
-face--all except Mr. Squigg, who was a sneak with the heart of a weasel,
-and didn't count. But this man, as bad as the worst of them, sought to
-justify his badness. Connie knew what Waseche Bill, or big MacDougall
-would have done if this human wolf had sought to persuade them to throw
-in with him on his dirty scheme, and he knew what Hurley or Saginaw Ed
-would do--and unconsciously, the boy's fists doubled. Then came the
-memory of McKeever and Ricky, the men of the Mounted with whom he had
-worked in the bringing of bad men to justice. What would McKeever do?
-The boy's fists relaxed. "He'd get him," he muttered under his breath.
-"He'd throw in with him, and find out all he could find out, and then
-he'd--_get him!_"
-
-"Whut's that?" Slue Foot asked the question abruptly, and Connie faced
-him with a grin:
-
-"Your dope sounds good to me," he said, "but come across with the
-scheme. Hurley or Saginaw may drop in here any time. If the Syndicate
-didn't change the brands, or paint over them, how did they work it?"
-
-"They didn't work it--it was me that worked it. All they done was to
-furnish me the paint an' put their own marks on the logs after I'd got
-'em into the big river, brand free. It's this way: Brandin' paint will
-stand water. You kin paint-brand a log here an' the brand will still be
-on it if it floats clean to New Orleans. That's the kind of paint Hurley
-furnished. An' that's the kind of paint that went on some of the logs.
-But another kind went on the rest of the logs. It was just as red an'
-just as purty lookin' as the other--while the logs stayed on the
-rollways. After they'd b'en in the water a while they wasn't no paint on
-'em. German chemists mixed that paint--an' water'll take it off, like
-it'll take dirt offen a floor--easier 'cause you don't have to use no
-soap, an' you don't have to do no scrubbin'--it jest na'chelly melts an'
-floats off. Hurley bossed the rear end drive, an' when our crews got to
-the mills, the Syndicate had saw to it that all unbranded logs was took
-care of an' wore the green tripple X."
-
-Connie nodded and Slue Foot continued: "Pretty slick, eh? But they's
-more to it than that. It's got to be worked right. I had to slip Long
-Leaf Olson the word when the rollways would be busted out so he could
-foul our drive an' git his logs in on the head end. Then, there was the
-dickerin' with the Syndicate. It took some rammin' around before I got
-next to old Heinie Metzger--he's the big boss of the Syndicate. I worked
-it through passin' myself off fer Hurley to a stuck-up young
-whipper-snapper name of von Kuhlmann, that's old Heinie's
-side-kick--confidential secretary, he calls him. Them Germans is slick,
-but at last we got together an' made the deal, an' they paid me all
-right, boom scale, when the logs was in. This here von Kuhlmann hisself
-slipped me the money--he's a funny galoot, always swelled up an' blowin'
-like he owned the world, an' always noddin' an' winkin', like they was
-somethin' he was holdin' out on ye, as if he know'd somethin' that no
-one else know'd--an' brag! You'd ort to hear him brag about Germany,
-like they wasn't no other reg'lar country, the rest of the world just
-bein' a kind of place that wasn't hardly worth mentionin'. They say the
-Syndicate stock is all owned in Germany, an' some of the cruisers that's
-worked fer 'em say it's a sight the amount of stuff they make 'em put in
-their reports. Accordin' to his job a cruiser or a land-looker is
-supposed to estimate timber. But the cruisers that works fer the
-Syndicate is supposed to report on everything from the number of box
-cars an' engines on the railroads, to the size of the towns, an' the
-number of folks in 'em that's Socialists an' I. W. W.'s. an' their name.
-They don't care nawthin about wastin' postage stamps, neither, 'cause
-all that stuff is sent over to Germany. What do they care over in the
-old country how many box cars is on some little old branch loggin' road
-in the timber country, or how many I. W. W.'s. lives in Thief River
-Falls?
-
-"An speakin' of I. W. W.'s--them Germans is slick some ways, an' blamed
-fools in another. With the I. W. W.'s. threatenin' the timber interests,
-these here Germans, that owns more mills an' standin' timber than any
-one else, is eggin' 'em on an' slippin' 'em money to keep 'em goin'. The
-I. W. W.'s., don't know that--an' I wouldn't neither except fer a lucky
-accident, an' I cashed in on it, too." The man paused and grinned
-knowingly. "In Duluth, it was, we pulled off a meetin' right under the
-nose of the police, an' not one of 'em in the hall. Called it a
-Socialist meetin', an' word was passed that they was a feller name of
-Mueller, from Germany, a student that was wised up to every wrinkle from
-blowin' up dams to wipin' out the Government. He come with greetin's
-from the 'brothers acrost the sea,' he said, an' what was more to the
-point, he brung along a nice fat package of cash money which he claimed
-had be'n raised by subscription fer to help the cause over here. I
-listened an' kep' a studyin' about where I'd saw this here Mueller
-before, but it didn't stand to reason I had, an' him just over from
-Germany. But they was somethin' about him made me sure I know'd him. He
-was dressed cheap an' wore glasses half an inch thick, an' they hadn't
-no barber be'n into his hair fer quite a spell; he'd needed a shave fer
-about three weeks, too, an' he looked like a reg'lar b'ilin' out
-wouldn't of hurt him none. Anyways, before the meetin' was over, I'd
-spotted him, so 'long about midnight, after the meetin' had be'n over
-about an hour I loafs down to the hotel. It was a cheap dump, a hang-out
-fer lumberjacks an' lake sailors, an' I know'd the clerk an' didn't have
-no trouble gittin' to his room.
-
-"'Hello, von Kuhlmann,' I says, when he opens the door, an' with a wild
-look up an' down the hall to see if any one had heard, he reaches out
-an' yanks me in. Tried to bluff it out first, but it wasn't no use."
-Slue Foot grinned: "I come out in about a half an hour with five hundred
-dollars in my jeans. These here 'brothers from acrost the sea' is sure
-some donaters when you git 'em where you want 'em--'course this here
-student business was all bunk. But, what I ain't never be'n able to git
-onto is, what in thunder does the Syndicate want to be slippin' the I.
-W. W. money fer?"
-
-"Are you an I. W. W.?" Connie shot the question directly.
-
-Slue Foot hesitated a moment and then answered evasively. "Git me
-right, kid, I'm anything that's agin' capital--an' I'm anything that's
-agin' the Government. First and foremostly, I'm fer Magee. No man kin
-make money by workin'. I've got money, an' I'm a-goin' to git more--an'
-I don't care how it's come by. I'm a wolf, an' I'll howl while the
-rabbit squeals! I'm a bird of prey! I'm a Government all my own! All
-Governments is birds of prey, an' beasts of prey. What do you see on
-their money, an' their seals, an' their flags--doves, an' rabbits, an'
-little fawns? No, it's eagles, an' bears, an' lions--beasts that rips,
-an' tears, an' crushes, an' kills!
-
-"You're lucky to git to throw in with a man like me--to git started out
-right when yer young. If you wasn't smart, I wouldn't fool with ye, but
-I'll git mine, an' you'll git yourn--an' some day, von Kuhlmann's kind
-of let it slip, they's somethin' big comin' off. I don't know what he's
-drivin' at, but it's somethin' he's all-fired sure is a-goin' to
-happen--an' he's kind of hinted that when it comes he kin use a few like
-me to good advantage."
-
-"What kind of a thing's coming off?"
-
-"I jest told ye I don't know--mebbe the Syndicate's goin' to grab off
-all the timber they is, or mebbe it's figgerin' on grabbin' the hull
-Government, or the State--but whatever it is, he kin count on me bein'
-in on it--if he pays enough--an' by the time he pays it, I'd ort to know
-enough about the game so's I kin flop over to the other side an' sell
-him out. It's the ones that plays both ends from the middle that gits
-theirn--brains makes the money--not hands."
-
-Slue Foot glanced out the window and turned to the boy. "Here comes
-Saginaw. When he gits here I'll growl an' you sass. Remember to keep
-your ears open an' find out when Hurley's goin' to break out the
-rollways, an' where he's goin' to deliver the logs. I've tended to the
-brandin'--if they's anything more I'll let ye know." Slue Foot paused
-and scowled darkly: "An' don't try to double-cross me! They ain't
-nothin' I've told ye that ye could prove anyhow. An' even if ye could,
-it's just as you said, this outfit won't pay ye as much as what you'll
-git out of the deal by playin' square with me."
-
-The door opened and Saginaw Ed entered, to interrupt a perfect torrent
-of abuse from Slue Foot, and a rapid fire of recrimination from the boy.
-Presently the boss of Camp Two departed, threatening to have Connie
-fired for incompetence, as soon as he could get in a word with Hurley.
-
-[Illustration: SLUE FOOT TURNED. "THINK Y'RE AWFUL SMART, DON'T YE?"]
-
-On the tote road at the edge of the clearing, Slue Foot turned and gazed
-at the little office. And as he gazed an evil smile twisted his lips:
-"Think yer awful smart, don't ye? Well, yer in on the scheme--'cause I
-need ye in. An' I'll use ye fer all there is in ye--but when cashin'-in
-time comes, yer goin' to be left whistlin' fer yourn--er my name ain't
-Slue Foot Magee!" Then the smile slowly faded from his face, and
-removing his cap, he thoughtfully scratched his head. "Only trouble is,
-he _is_ smart--an' where'll I git off at, if it turns out he's too
-_doggone_ smart?"
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVII
-
-HEINIE METZGER
-
-
-Saginaw Ed listened as Connie detailed at length all that Slue Foot had
-told him. When the boy finished, the woodsman removed his pipe and
-regarded him thoughtfully: "Takin' it off an' on, I've know'd some
-consider'ble ornery folks in my time, but I never run acrost none that
-was as plumb crooked as this here specimen. Why, along side of him a
-corkscrew is straight as a stretched fiddle gut. He ain't square with no
-one. But, a man like him can't only go so far--his rope is short, an'
-when he comes to the end of it, they ain't a-goin' to be no knot fer to
-hang holt of. A man that's double-crossed folks like he has ain't got no
-right to expect to git away with it. If they don't no one else git him,
-the law will."
-
-"Yes," answered the boy, "and we've got enough on him so that when the
-law gets through with him he's not going to have much time left for any
-more crookedness."
-
-"How d'you figger on workin' it?" asked Saginaw.
-
-Connie laughed: "I haven't had time to dope it out yet, but there's no
-use starting anything 'til just before the drive. Slue Foot's crowding
-'em up there in Camp Two, putting every last log he can get onto the
-landings--he said he'd have close to three million feet branded with his
-own paint."
-
-"Expects Hurley's goin' to let Long Leaf boss the drive agin, I s'pose
-an' the Syndicate crew do the sortin'!"
-
-"I guess that's what's he's counting on," answered the boy. "Hurley will
-tend to that part. And now we know his scheme, the logs are safe--what
-we want is evidence. When we get him we want to get him right."
-
-Saginaw Ed rose to go. "It's up to you, son, to figger out the best way.
-Whatever you say goes. Take yer time an' figger it out good--'cause you
-want to remember that the Syndicate owes ye some thirty-odd thousand
-dollars they stoled off ye last year, an'----"
-
-"Thirty-odd thousand?"
-
-"Sure--ye stood to clean up twenty thousan', didn't ye? Instead of which
-ye lost fourteen thousan'--that's thirty-four thousan', ain't it? An'
-here's somethin' fer to remember when yer dealin' with the Syndicate:
-Never law 'em if you can git out of it. They've got the money--an' you
-ain't got no square deal. Git the dope on 'em, an' then settle out o'
-court, with old Heinie Metzger."
-
-When Saginaw had gone, Connie sat for hours at his desk thinking up
-plans of action, discarding them, revising them, covering whole sheets
-of paper with pencilled figures.
-
-When, at last, he answered the supper call and crossed the clearing to
-the cook's camp, a peculiar smile twitched the corners of his lips.
-
-"I've got to go up the road a piece an' figger on a couple of new
-skidways," said Saginaw, when the four who bunked in the office arose
-from the table. "It's good an' moonlight, an' I kin git the swampers
-started on 'em first thing in the morning."
-
-"I'll go with you," decided the boy, "I've been cooped up all the
-afternoon, and I'll be glad of the chance to stretch my legs."
-
-Leaving Hurley and Lon Camden, the two struck off up one of the broad,
-iced log roads that reached into the timber like long fingers clutching
-at the very heart of the forest. The task of locating the skidways was
-soon finished and Saginaw seated himself on a log and produced pipe and
-tobacco. "Well, son," he said, "what's the game? I watched ye whilst we
-was eatin', an' I seen ye'd got it figgered out."
-
-After a moment of silence, Connie asked abruptly: "How am I going to
-manage to get away for a week or ten days?"
-
-"Git away!" exclaimed Saginaw. "You mean leave camp?"
-
-The boy nodded: "Yes, I've got to go." He seated himself astride the log
-and talked for an hour, while Saginaw, his pipe forgotten, listened.
-When the boy finished Saginaw sat in silence, the dead pipe clenched
-between his teeth.
-
-"Well, what do you think of it?"
-
-The other removed the pipe, and spat deliberately into the snow. "Think
-of it?" he replied, "I never was much hand fer thinkin'--an' them big
-figgers you're into has got me woozy headed. Personal an' private, I'm
-tellin' ye right out, I don't think it'll work. It sounds good the way
-you spoke it, but--why, doggone it, that would be outfiggerin' the
-_Syndicate!_ It would be lettin' 'em beat theirself at their own game!
-It can't be did! They ain't no one kin do it. It ain't on."
-
-"What's the matter with it?" asked the boy.
-
-"Matter with it! I can't find nothin' the matter with it--That's why it
-won't work!"
-
-Connie laughed: "We'll make it work! All you've got to remember is that
-if any stranger comes into the camp asking for Hurley, you steer him up
-against Slue Foot. This von Kuhlmann himself will probably come, and if
-he does it will be all right--he knows Slue Foot by sight. The only
-thing that's bothering me is how am I going to ask Hurley for a week or
-ten days off? Frenchy's going in tomorrow, and I've got to go with him."
-
-Saginaw Ed slapped his mittened hand against his leg: "I've got it," he
-exclaimed. "There was three new hands come in today--good whitewater men
-fer the drive. One of 'em's Quick-water Quinn. I've worked with him off
-an' on fer it's goin' on fifteen year. He'll do anything fer me, account
-of a little deal onct, which he believed I saved his life. I'll slip
-over to the men's camp an' write a letter to you. Then later, when we're
-all in the office, Quick-water, he'll fetch it over an' ask if you're
-here, an' give it to ye. Then ye read it, and take on like you've got to
-go right away fer a week er so. You don't need to make any
-explainin'--jest stick to it you've got to go. Hurley'll prob'ly rave
-round an' tell ye ye can't, an' bawl ye out, an' raise a rookus
-generally, but jest stick to it. If it gits to where ye have to, jest
-tell him you quit. That'll bring him 'round. He sets a lot of store by
-you, an' he'll let ye go if ye make him."
-
-And so it happened that just as the four were turning in that night, a
-lumberjack pushed open the door. "Is they any one here name o' C.
-Morgan?" he asked.
-
-Connie stepped forward, and the man thrust a letter into his hand:
-"Brung it in with me from the postoffice. They told me over to the men's
-camp you was in here."
-
-Connie thanked the man, and carrying the letter to the light, tore it
-open and read. At the end of five minutes he looked up: "I've got to go
-out with Frenchy in the morning," he announced.
-
-Hurley let a heavy boot fall with a thud, and stared at the boy as
-though he had taken leave of his senses. "Go out!" he roared, "What'ye
-mean, go out?"
-
-"I've got to go for a week or ten days. It's absolutely necessary or I
-wouldn't do it."
-
-"A wake er tin days, sez he!" Hurley lapsed into brogue, as he always
-did when aroused or excited. "An' fer a wake or tin days the books kin
-run theirsilf! Well, ye can't go--an' that's all there is to ut!"
-
-"I've got to go," repeated Connie stubbornly. "If I don't go out with
-Frenchy, I'll walk out!"
-
-The boss glared at him. "I know'd things wuz goin' too good to last. But
-Oi didn't think th' trouble wuz a-comin' from ye. Ye can tell me, mebbe,
-what, Oi'm a-goin' to do widout no clerk whoilst yer gaddin' round
-havin' a good toime? Ye can't go!"
-
-"Steve can run the wanagan, and Lon, and Saginaw, and Slue Foot can hold
-their reports 'til I get back. I'll work night and day then 'til I catch
-up."
-
-"They ain't a-goin' to be no ketch up!" roared Hurley. "Here ye be, an'
-here ye'll stay! Av ye go out ye'll stay out!"
-
-Connie looked the big boss squarely in the eye: "I'm sorry, Hurley.
-I've liked you, and I've liked my job. But I've got to go. You'll find
-the books all up to the minute." Hurley turned away with a snort and
-rolled into his bunk, and a few minutes later, Connie blew out the lamp
-and crawled between his own warm blankets, where he lay smiling to
-himself in the darkness.
-
-By lamplight next morning the boy was astir. He placed his few
-belongings in his turkey, and when the task was accomplished he noticed
-that Hurley was watching him out of the corner of his eye. He tied the
-sack as the others sat upon the edge of the bunks and drew on their
-boots. And in silence they all crossed the dark clearing toward the
-cook's camp.
-
-With a great jangle of bells, Frenchy drew his tote-team up before the
-door just as they finished breakfast. Connie tossed his turkey into the
-sleigh and turned to Hurley who stood by with Lon Camden and Saginaw Ed.
-"I'll take my time, now," said the boy, quietly. "And good luck to you
-all!"
-
-For answer the big boss reached over and, grabbing the turkey, sent it
-spinning into the boy's bunk. "Ye don't git no toime!" he bellowed.
-"Jump in wid Frenchy now, an' don't be shtandin' 'round doin' nawthin'.
-Tin days ye'll be gone at the outsoide, an' av' ye ain't at yer disk
-here be th' 'leventh day, Oi'll br-reak ye in two an' grease saws wid
-the two halves av ye!" Reaching into his pocket, he drew forth a roll of
-bills. "How much money d'ye nade? Come spake up! Ye kin have all, or
-par-rt av ut--an' don't ye iver let me hear ye talk av quittin' agin, er
-Oi'll woind a peavy around yer head."
-
-Connie declined the money and jumped into the sleigh, and with a crack
-of the whip, Frenchy sent the horses galloping down the tote road. When
-they were well out of hearing the Frenchman laughed. "Dat Hurley she lak
-for mak' de beeg bluff, w'at you call; she mak' you scairt lak she gon'
-keel you, an' den she giv' you all de mon' she got."
-
-"He's the best boss in the woods!" cried the boy.
-
-"_Oui_ dat rat. Ba goss, we'n she roar an' bluff, dat ain' w'en you got
-for look out! Me--A'm know 'bout dat. A'm seen heem lick 'bout fifty men
-wan tam. Ovaire on----"
-
-"Oh, come now, Frenchy--not fifty men."
-
-"Well, was seex, anyhow. Ovaire on Leech Lak' an' _sacre!_ He ain' say
-nuttin', dat tam--joos' mak' hees eyes leetle an' shine lak de _loup
-cervier_--an' smash, smash, smash! An', by goss, 'bout twenty of dem
-feller, git de busted head."
-
-Connie laughed, and during all the long miles of the tote road
-he listened to the exaggerated and garbled stories of the
-Frenchman--stories of log drives, of fights, of bloody accidents, and of
-"hants" and windagoes. At the railroad, the boy helped the teamster and
-the storekeeper in the loading of the sleigh until a long-drawn whistle
-announced the approach of his train. When it stopped at the tiny
-station, he climbed aboard, and standing on the platform, waved his hand
-until the two figures whisked from sight and the train plunged between
-its flanking walls of pine.
-
-In Minneapolis Connie hunted up the office of the Syndicate, which
-occupied an entire floor, many stories above the sidewalk, of a tall
-building. He was a very different looking Connie from the roughly clad
-boy who had clambered onto the train at Dogfish. A visit to a big
-department store had transformed him from a lumberjack into a youth
-whose clothing differed in no marked particular from the clothing of
-those he passed upon the street. But there was a difference that had
-nothing whatever to do with clothing--a certain something in the easy
-swing of his stride, the poise of his shoulders, the healthy bronzed
-skin and the clear blue eyes, that caused more than one person to pause
-upon the sidewalk for a backward glance at the boy.
-
-Connie stepped from the elevator, hesitated for a second before a
-heavily lettered opaque glass door, then turned the knob and entered, to
-find himself in a sort of pen formed by a low railing in which was a
-swinging gate. Before him, beyond the railing, dozens of girls sat at
-desks their fingers fairly flying over the keys of their clicking
-typewriters. Men with green shades over their eyes, and queer black
-sleeves reaching from their wrists to their elbows, sat at other desks.
-Along one side of the great room stood a row of box-like offices, each
-with a name lettered upon its glass door. So engrossed was the boy in
-noting these details that he started at the sound of a voice close
-beside him. He looked down into the face of a girl who sat before a
-complicated looking switchboard.
-
-"Who do you wish to see?" she asked.
-
-Connie flushed to the roots of his hair. It was almost the first time in
-his life that any girl had spoken to him--and this one was smiling. Off
-came his hat. "Is--is Heinie Metzger in?" he managed to ask. Connie's
-was a voice tuned to the big open places, and here in the office of the
-Syndicate it boomed loudly--so loudly that the girls at the nearer
-typewriters looked up swiftly and then as swiftly stooped down to pick
-up imaginary articles from the floor; the boy could see that they were
-trying to suppress laughter. And the girl at the switchboard? He glanced
-from the others to this one who was close beside him. Her face was red
-as his own, and she was coughing violently into a tiny handkerchief.
-
-"Caught cold?" he asked. "Get your feet dry, and take a dose of quinine,
-and you'll be all right--if you don't get pneumonia and die. If Heinie
-ain't in I can come again." Somehow the boy felt that he would like to
-be out of this place. He felt stifled and very uncomfortable. He
-wondered if girls always coughed into handkerchiefs or clawed around on
-the floor to keep from laughing at nothing. He hoped she would say that
-Heinie Metzger was not in.
-
-"Have you a card?" the girl had recovered from her coughing fit, but her
-face was very red.
-
-"A what?" asked the boy.
-
-"A card--your name."
-
-"Oh, my name is Connie Morgan."
-
-"And, your address?"
-
-"Ma'am?"
-
-"Where do you live?"
-
-"Ten Bow."
-
-"Where? Is it in Minnesota?"
-
-"No, it's in Alaska--and I wish I was back there right now."
-
-"And, your business?"
-
-"I want to see Heinie Metzger about some logs."
-
-A man passing the little gate in the railing whirled and glared at him.
-He was a very disagreeable looking young man with a fat, heavy face,
-pouchy eyes of faded blue, and stiff, close-cropped reddish hair that
-stuck straight up on his head like pig's bristles. "Looks like he'd been
-scrubbed," thought Connie as he returned glare for glare. The man
-stepped through the gate and thrust his face close to the boy's.
-
-"Vat you mean, eh?"
-
-"Are you Heinie Metzger?"
-
-"No, I am not _Herr_ Metzger. _Unt_ it pays you you shall be civil to
-your betters. You shall say _Herr_ Metzger, _oder_ Mister Metzger. _Unt_
-he has got not any time to be mit poys talking. Vat you vanted? If you
-got pusiness, talk mit me. I am _Herr_ von Kuhlmann, confidential
-secretary to _Herr_ Metzger."
-
-"I thought you were the barber," apologized the boy. "But anyhow, you
-won't do. I want to see Heinie Metzger, or 'hair' Metzger, or Mister
-Metzger, whichever way you want it. I want to sell him some logs."
-
-The other sneered: "Logs! He wants to sell it some logs! _Unt_ how much
-logs you got--on de vagon a load, maybe? Ve dondt fool mit logs here,
-exceptingly ve get anyhow a trainload--_unt_ _Herr_ Metzger dondt
-mention efen, less dan half a million feets. Vere iss your logs?"
-
-"I've got 'em in my pocket," answered the boy. "Come on, Dutchy, you're
-wasting my time. Trot along, now; and tell this Metzger there's a fellow
-out here that's got about eight or nine million feet of white pine to
-sell----"
-
-"Vite pine! Eight million feets! You krasy?" The man stooped and swung
-open the little gate. "Come along _mit_ me, _unt_ if you trying some
-foolishness _mit_ _Herr_ Metzger, you vish you vas some blace else to
-have stayed avay." He paused before a closed door, and drawing himself
-very erect, knocked gently. A full minute of silence, then from the
-interior came a rasping voice:
-
-"Who is it?"
-
-"It is I, sir, von Kuhlmann, at your service, _unt_ I have _mit_ me one
-small poy who say he has it some logs to sell."
-
-Again the voice rasped from behind the partition--a thin voice, yet, in
-it's thinness, somehow suggesting brutality: "Why should you come to me?
-Why don't you buy his logs and send him about his business?"
-
-Von Kuhlmann cleared his throat nervously: "He says it iss vite
-pine--eight million feets."
-
-"Show him in, you fool! What are you standing out there for?"
-
-Von Kuhlmann opened the door and motioned Connie to enter:
-
-"_Herr_ Morgan," he announced, bowing low.
-
-"Connie Morgan," corrected the boy quickly, as he stepped toward the
-desk and offered his hand to the small, grey-haired man, with the
-enormous eyeglasses, and the fierce upturned mustache. "I suppose you
-are Heinie Metzger," he announced.
-
-The man glared at him, his thin nostrils a-quiver. Then, in a dry,
-cackling voice, bade Connie be seated, giving the extended hand the
-merest touch. Von Kuhlmann withdrew noiselessly, and closed the door.
-Metzger opened a drawer and drew forth a box of cigars which he opened,
-and extended toward the boy. Connie declined, and replacing the cigars,
-the man drew from another drawer, a box of cigarettes, and when the boy
-declined those he leaned back in his chair and stared at Connie through
-his glasses, as one would examine a specimen at the zoo.
-
-[Illustration: HE LEANED BACK IN HIS CHAIR AND STARED AT CONNIE THROUGH
-HIS GLASSES, AS ONE WOULD EXAMINE A SPECIMEN AT THE ZOO.]
-
-"Young man, how do I know you have any logs?" the question rasped
-suddenly from between half-closed lips.
-
-"You don't know it," answered the boy. "That's why I came here to tell
-you."
-
-"White pine, you said," snapped the man, after a pause. "Eight million
-feet?"
-
-"Yes, white pine--at least eight million, maybe nine, and possibly more,
-if we continue to have good luck."
-
-"Where are these logs?"
-
-"On our landings on Dogfish River."
-
-"Dogfish! You're the man from Alaska that bought the McClusky tract?"
-
-"I'm his partner."
-
-"Show a profit last year?"
-
-"No. But we only had one camp then, and this year we have two and each
-one has cut more than the one we had last year."
-
-"Who did you sell to, last year?"
-
-"Baker & Crosby."
-
-"Satisfied with their boom scale?"
-
-"Well, no, we weren't. That's why we thought we'd offer the cut to you
-this year, if you want it."
-
-"Want it! Of course we want it--that is, if the price is right."
-
-"What will you pay?"
-
-_Herr_ Heinrich Metzger removed his glasses and dangled them by their
-wide black ribbon, as he glanced along his thin nose. "Sure you can
-deliver eight million feet?" he asked.
-
-"Yes, our foreman reports eight million already on the rollways, or in
-the woods all ready for the rollways. Yes, I can be sure of eight
-million."
-
-"We have a big contract," said Metzger, "that is just about eight
-million feet short of being filled. If we can be sure of getting the
-entire eight million in one lump, we could afford to pay more--much
-more, in fact, than we could if there was anything short of eight
-million feet."
-
-Connie nodded: "There will be eight million feet, at least," he
-repeated. "What will you pay?"
-
-For a long time the other was silent, then he spoke: "It is a large
-deal," he said. "There are many things to consider. Lest we make haste
-too quickly, I must have time to consider the transaction in all it's
-phases. Meet me here one week from today, at eleven o'clock, and I will
-give you a figure."
-
-"A week is a long time," objected the boy, "And I am a long way from
-home."
-
-"Yes, yes, but there are others--associates of mine in the business with
-whom I must consult." The boy had risen to go, when the man stayed him
-with a motion. "Wait," he commanded. "Your name is----?"
-
-"Morgan--Connie Morgan."
-
-"To be sure--Connie Morgan." He picked the receiver from the hook of his
-desk phone. "Get me the Laddison Hotel," he commanded, and hung up the
-receiver. "The delay is of my own making, therefore I should pay for it.
-You will move your luggage into the Laddison Hotel, which is the best in
-the city, and shall remain there until our deal is closed, at the
-expense of this company----"
-
-"But," objected the boy, "suppose the deal don't go through?"
-
-"The expense will be ours whether the deal goes through or not. You see,
-I am confident that we can deal."
-
-The telephone rang and Metzger made the arrangements, and again, turned
-to the boy. "Each evening at dinner time, you are to ask at the desk for
-an envelope. In the envelope you will receive a ticket to the theatre.
-This, also, at our expense." He smiled broadly. "You see, we treat our
-guests well. We do not wish them to become tired of our city, and we
-wish those with whom we have dealings to think well of us."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVIII
-
-CONNIE SELLS SOME LOGS
-
-
-Connie Morgan left the office of the Syndicate, and once more upon the
-sidewalk, filled his lungs with the keen air. "It's going to work!"
-"It's going to work!" he repeated over and over to himself as he made
-his way toward the store where he had left his discarded clothing
-stuffed into a brand new brown leather suitcase. The boy returned
-unhesitatingly to the store, not by means of street signs, but by the
-simple process of back-trailing. Trained in observation, his eyes had
-unfailingly registered the landmarks in his brain--even when that brain
-had been too busy wondering what was to be the outcome of his conference
-with Heinie Metzger, to know that it was receiving impressions. It was
-this trained habit of observation that had enabled him to select his
-wearing apparel and the brown leather suitcase. He had simply studied
-the passengers on the train, and selecting a man who looked well
-dressed, had copied his apparel and even his suitcase.
-
-The clerk at the store directed him to his hotel, and a few minutes
-later he stood in the window of a thickly carpeted room, and stared out
-over the roofs of buildings. "It's--it's like the mountains," he mused,
-"stretching away, peak after peak, as far as you can see, and the
-streets are the canyons and the valleys--only this is more--lonesome."
-Tiring of looking out over the roofs, he put on his overcoat and spent
-the afternoon upon the streets, admiring the goods in the store windows
-and watching the people pass and repass upon the sidewalks. It was a
-mild, sunshiny afternoon and the streets were thronged with ladies, the
-browns, and greys, and blacks, and whites of their furs making a pretty
-kaleidoscope of colour.
-
-At the Union Station he procured a folder and after looking up the
-departure of trains, returned to his hotel. He walked back at the time
-when factories, stores, and office buildings were disgorging their human
-flood onto the streets, and the boy gazed about him in wonder as he
-elbowed his way along the sidewalk. He smiled to himself. "I guess I
-don't know much about cities. In the store I was wondering where in the
-world they were going to find the people to buy all the stuff they had
-piled around, and when I was looking out the window, I wondered if there
-were enough people in the world to live in all the houses--and now I'm
-wondering if there is enough stuff to go around, and enough houses to
-hold 'em all."
-
-In this room Connie glanced at his watch, performed a hasty toilet, and
-hurried into the elevator. "Gee, it's most six!" he muttered, "I bet I'm
-late for supper." He was surprised to find men in the lobby, sitting
-about in chairs or talking in groups, as they had been doing when he
-left in the afternoon. "Maybe they don't have it 'til six," he thought,
-and seating himself in a leather chair, waited with his eyes on the
-clock. Six o'clock came, and when the hand reached five minutes after,
-he strolled to the desk. "Anything here for me?" he asked. The clerk
-handed him an envelope. "Heinie's making good," thought the boy, and
-then, trying not to look hungry, he turned to the clerk: "Cook hollered
-yet?" he asked casually.
-
-The man smiled: "Grill's down stairs," he announced, pointing to a
-marble stairway at the other end of the room.
-
-"I ain't too late, am I?" asked the boy.
-
-"Too late! Too late for what?"
-
-"For supper. It ain't over is it?"
-
-"The grill is open from eight in the morning until midnight," explained
-the man, and as Connie turned away, he called after him: "Oh, Mr.
-Morgan----"
-
-"Connie Morgan," corrected the boy gravely.
-
-"Well, Connie, then--you are not to pay your checks, just sign them and
-the waiter will take care of them."
-
-"That suits me," smiled Connie, and as he crossed the tiled floor he
-muttered: "If they hadn't wasted so much space making the office and
-rooms so big, they wouldn't have to eat in the cellar. In Fairbanks or
-Skagway they'd have made four rooms out of that one of mine." At the
-door of the grill a man in black met him, conducted him through a maze
-of small tables at which men and women were eating, and drew out a chair
-at a table placed against the wall. Another man in black appeared,
-filled a glass with water from a fat bottle, and flipped a large piece
-of cardboard in front of him. Connie scanned the printed list with
-puckered brow. Way down toward the bottom he found three words he knew,
-they were tea, coffee, milk. The man in black was waiting at his side
-with a pencil poised above a small pad of paper. "Go ahead, if you want
-to write," said the boy, "I won't bother you any--I'm just trying to
-figure out what some of these names mean."
-
-"Waiting for your order, sir."
-
-"Don't 'sir' me. You mean you're the waiter?"
-
-"Yes, sir."
-
-"Well, I'm hungry, suppose you beat it out and bring me my supper."
-
-"What will it be, sir? I will take your order, sir."
-
-"Cut out that 'sir,' I told you. If these things they've got down here
-stand for grub, you'll just have to bring along the whole mess, and I'll
-pick out what I want."
-
-"Might I suggest, s----"
-
-"Look here," interrupted the boy, grasping the idea. "If any of these
-names stand for ham and eggs, or beefsteak, or potatoes, or bread and
-butter, you bring 'em along."
-
-The man actually smiled, and Connie felt relieved. "Whose place is
-that?" he indicated a chair across the table.
-
-"Not reserved, sir."
-
-Connie glanced around the room: "You ain't very busy, now. Might as well
-bring your own grub along, and if you can ever remember to forget that
-'sir' business, we'll get along all right--I'm lonesome."
-
-When the waiter returned with a tray loaded with good things to eat,
-Connie again indicated the empty chair. "Against the rules," whispered
-the waiter, remembering to leave off the "sir."
-
-Connie did justice to the meal and when he had finished, the man cleared
-the dishes away and set a plate before him upon which was a small bowl
-of water and a folded napkin. "What's that?" asked the boy, "I drink out
-of a glass."
-
-"Finger bowl," whispered the waiter. "Do you wish a dessert?"
-
-"Might take a chance on a piece of pie," answered the boy, "here take
-this along. I washed up-stairs."
-
-When the waiter presented his check, Connie took the pencil from his
-hand, signed it, and passed it back.
-
-"Very good. One moment, 'til I verify this at the desk." He hurried
-away, and returned a moment later. "Very good," he repeated.
-
-Connie handed him a dollar: "I'm going to be here a week," he said, "I
-want three good square meals a day, and it's up to you to see that I get
-'em. No more lists of stuff I can't read. No more 'yes sir,' 'no sir,'
-'very good sir.'"
-
-The waiter pocketed the dollar: "Thank you, s--. Very good. Always come
-to this table. I will reserve this place for you. You will find your
-chair tilted, so. I shall speak to the head waiter."
-
-Connie went directly to his room and putting on his cap and overcoat,
-returned to the lobby and again approached the man at the desk: "What
-time does the show start?" he asked.
-
-"Curtain rises at eight-fifteen."
-
-"Where is it?"
-
-"Which one?"
-
-The boy reached for his envelope and handed the ticket to the clerk.
-
-"Metropolitan," informed the man, with a glance at the cardboard.
-"Marquette, between Third and Fourth." The boy glanced at the clock. It
-was a quarter past seven. Hurrying to Nicollet Avenue, he walked
-rapidly to the depot and accosted a uniformed official: "Is the
-seven-fifty-five for Brainard in yet?"
-
-"Naw, third gate to yer right, where them folks is waitin'."
-
-Connie turned up his collar, pulled his cap well down over his eyes, and
-strolled to the edge of the knot of people that crowded close about one
-of the iron gates. His eyes ran rapidly over each face in the crowd
-without encountering the object of his search, so he appropriated an
-inconspicuous seat on a nearby bench between a man who was engrossed in
-his newspaper, and an old woman who held a large bundle up on her lap,
-and whose feet were surrounded with other bundles and bags which she
-insisted upon counting every few minutes. Closely the boy scrutinized
-each new arrival as he joined the waiting group. Beyond the iron grill
-were long strings of lighted coaches to which were coupled engines that
-panted eagerly as they awaited the signal that would send them plunging
-away into the night with their burden of human freight.
-
-Other trains drew in, and Connie watched the greetings of relatives and
-friends, as they rushed to meet the inpouring stream of passengers. It
-seemed to the lonely boy that everybody in the world had someone waiting
-to welcome him but himself. He swallowed once or twice, smiled a trifle
-bitterly, and resumed his scrutiny of the faces. A man bawled a string
-of names, there was a sudden surging of the crowd which rapidly melted
-as its members were spewed out into the train shed. A few stragglers
-were still hurrying through the gate. The hands of a clock pointed to
-seven-fifty-four, and Connie stood up. As he did so, a man catapulted
-down the stairs, and rushed for the gate. He was a young man, clothed in
-the garb of a woodsman, and as he passed him, Connie recognized the
-heavy face of von Kuhlmann.
-
-"That's just what I've been waiting for," he spoke aloud to himself,
-after the manner of those whose lives are cast in the solitudes. The man
-glanced up from his newspaper, and the old woman regarded him with a
-withering scowl, and gathered her bundles more closely about her feet.
-
-The play that evening was a musical comedy, and during the entire
-performance the boy sat enthralled by the music and the dazzling
-costumes. He was still in a daze when he reached his hotel, and once
-more stood in his room and gazed out over the city of twinkling lights.
-He turned from the window and surveyed his apartment, the thick carpet,
-the huge brass bed, the white bath tub in the tiny room adjoining, with
-its faucets for hot and cold water, the big mirror that reflected his
-image from head to foot--it seemed all of a piece with the play.
-
-Instantly the boy's imagination leaped the snow-locked miles and he saw
-the tiny cabin on Ten Bow, the nights on the snow-trail when he had
-curled up in his blankets with the coldly gleaming stars for his roof;
-he saw the rough camp on Dogfish and in a flash he was back in the room
-once more. "This ain't real _living_," he muttered, once more glancing
-about him, "It's--it's like the show--like living in a world of
-make-believe."
-
-Undressing, he drew the white tub nearly full of water. "I'm going to
-make it just as hot as I can stand it. Any one can take a bath in cold
-water." He wallowed in the tub for a long time, dried himself with a
-coarse towel, and rummaging in his new suitcase, produced a pair of pink
-pyjamas which had been highly recommended by the clerk at the big store.
-Very gingerly he donned the garments and for some moments stood and
-viewed himself in the mirror. "Gee," he muttered, "I'm sure glad
-Waseche Bill ain't here!" and switching out the light, he dived into
-bed.
-
-[Illustration: VERY GINGERLY HE DONNED THE GARMENTS AND FOR SOME MOMENTS
-STOOD AND VIEWED HIMSELF IN THE MIRROR.]
-
-Promptly at eleven o'clock, one week from the day he arrived in
-Minneapolis, Connie Morgan again presented himself at the office of the
-Syndicate. That he had been expected was evidenced by the fact that the
-girl at the switchboard did not ask him any questions. She greeted him
-by name, and touching a button beneath the edge of her desk summoned a
-boy who conducted him to Metzger's private office. The lumber magnate
-received him with an oily smile: "Promptly on the minute," he approved.
-"That's business. Sit here and we will see whether two business men are
-able to make their minds meet in a contract that will be profitable to
-both." The man placed the points of his fingers together and sighted
-across them at Connie. "In the first place," he began, "the quantity of
-logs. You are sure you can deliver here at our mills at least eight
-million feet?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Because," continued the man, "owing to the conditions of a contract we
-have on hand, any less than eight million feet would be practically of
-no value to us whatever. That is, we have concluded to rely entirely
-upon your logs to fulfill our big contract, and should you fail us, the
-other contract would fail, and we would be at the expense of marketing
-the lumber elsewhere."
-
-"How much more than eight million feet could you use?" asked the boy.
-
-"As much more as you can deliver. Say, anything up to ten million."
-
-Connie nodded: "That's all right," he assented, "and the price?"
-
-"Ah, yes--the price." Metzger frowned thoughtfully. "What would you say
-to twenty dollars a thousand?"
-
-Connie shook his head. "I can get twenty-five anywhere."
-
-"Well, twenty-five?"
-
-Again the boy shook his head. "You told me you could pay liberally for
-the logs if you could be sure of getting them all in one lot," he
-reminded. "I can get twenty-five, anywhere, and by hunting out my market
-I can boost it to thirty."
-
-Metzger's frown deepened. "What is your price?" he asked.
-
-"Fifty dollars."
-
-"Fifty dollars!" The man rolled his eyes as if imploring high heaven to
-look down upon the extortion. "Ridiculous! Why the highest price ever
-paid was forty!"
-
-"We'll make a new record, then," answered the boy calmly.
-
-"Forty dollars--if you must have it," offered the man. "Forty dollars or
-nothing. And, even at forty, we must insist on inserting a protective
-clause in the contract."
-
-"A protective clause?"
-
-"Yes, it is this way. If we assume to pay such an outrageous price for
-your logs, we must insist upon being protected in case you fail to
-deliver. Suppose, for instance, something prevented your delivering the
-logs, or part of them at our mills. Say, you could deliver only four or
-five million. We could not pay forty dollars for them, because our price
-is fixed with the understanding that we are to receive eight million."
-
-"That's fair enough," answered the boy; "we'll fix that. If we don't
-deliver eight million, then you take what we do deliver at twenty
-dollars."
-
-Metzger pondered. "And you will bind yourself to sell to us, and not to
-others, if you deliver a short cut?"
-
-"Sure we will."
-
-"Well, there is fairness in your offer. We will say, then, that we are
-to pay you forty dollars a thousand for any amount between eight and ten
-million, and only twenty dollars if you fail to deliver at least eight
-million."
-
-"I said fifty dollars," reminded the boy.
-
-"And I say we cannot pay fifty! It is unheard of! It is not to be
-thought of! It is exorbitant!"
-
-Connie arose and reached for his cap: "All right," he answered. "The
-deal's off." At the door he paused, "I liked your hotel, and the shows,"
-he said, but Metzger cut him short:
-
-"The hotel and the shows!" he cried. "Bah! it is nothing! Come back
-here. You are an extortionist! You know you have us at your mercy, and
-you are gouging us! It is an outrage!"
-
-"See here, Metzger." The man flinched at the use of his name, shorn of
-any respectful _Herr_, or Mister. But he listened. "It's my business
-to get as much for those logs as I can get. There is nothing more
-to talk about. If you want 'em at fifty dollars, take 'em, if you
-don't--good-bye."
-
-Muttering and grumbling, the man motioned him back to his seat. "We've
-got to have the logs," he whined, "but it is a hard bargain you drive.
-One does not look for such harshness in the young. I am disappointed.
-How would forty-five do?"
-
-"Fifty."
-
-"Well, fifty, then!" snapped Metzger, with a great show of anger. "But
-look here, if we go up ten dollars on our part, you come down ten
-dollars on your part! We will pay fifty dollars a thousand for all logs
-between eight and ten million--and ten dollars a thousand for all logs
-delivered short of eight million--and you bind yourself to sell us your
-entire drive on those terms."
-
-"That's a deal," answered the boy. "And our crew to work with yours at
-the sorting gap. When will you have the papers?"
-
-"Come back at two," growled the man, shortly.
-
-When Connie had gone, Metzger touched one of a row of buttons upon his
-desk, and von Kuhlmann entered, and standing at military attention,
-waited for his superior to speak.
-
-For a full minute Metzger kept him standing without deigning to notice
-him. Then, scribbling for a moment, he extended a paper toward his
-subordinate. "Have a contract drawn in conformity with these figures,"
-he commanded.
-
-Von Kuhlmann glanced at the paper. "He agreed? As it iss so said here in
-America--he bite?"
-
-Metzger's thin lip writhed in a saturnine grin: "Yes, he bit. I strung
-him along, and he has an idea that he is a wonderful business man--to
-hold out against me for his price. Ha, little did he know that the top
-price interested me not at all! It was the lesser figure that I was
-after--and you see what it is, von Kuhlmann--_ten dollars a thousand_!"
-
-The other made a rapid mental calculation: "On the deal, at five million
-feet, we make, at the least, more than three hundred thousand!"
-
-Metzger nodded: "Yes! That is business!" he glared into von Kuhlmann's
-face, "This deal is based on _your_ report. If you have failed us----!"
-
-Von Kuhlmann shuddered: "I haff not fail. I haff been on Dogfish, and I
-haff mit mine eyes seen the logs. I haff talk mit Hurley, the boss. He
-iss mit us. Why should he not be mit us? We pay him well for the logs
-from which comes the paint off. He haff brand with the dissolving paint
-three million feets. Mineself I apply vater _unt_ from the ends, I rub
-the paint, in each rollway, here and there, a log."
-
-Metzger pencilled some figures on a pad. "If you have failed us," he
-repeated, "we pay _four hundred thousand_ dollars for eight million
-feet. _Four hundred thousand!_ And we lose forty dollars a thousand on
-the whole eight million feet. Because we expect to pay this Hurley ten
-dollars a thousand for the three million feet branded with the
-dissolving paint--and also to pay ten dollars a thousand for the five
-million that will be delivered under the contract." The man paused and
-brought his fist down on the desk: "Ha, these Americans!" the thin lips
-twisted in sneering contempt, "they pride themselves upon their
-acumen--upon their business ability. They boast of being a nation of
-traders! They have pride of their great country lying helpless as
-a babe--a swine contentedly wallowing in its own fat, believing
-itself secure in its flimsy sty--little heeding the Butcher, who
-watches even as he whets his knife under the swine's very eyes,
-waiting--waiting--waiting only for--THE DAY!" At the words both Metzger
-and von Kuhlmann clicked their heels and came to a stiff military
-salute. Standing Metzger, continued: "Traders--business men--bah! It is
-the Germans who are the traders--the business men of the world. Into the
-very heart of their country we reach, and they do not know it. Lumber
-here, iron there, cotton, wool, railroads, banks--in their own country,
-and under protection of their own laws we have reached out our hands and
-have taken; until today Germany holds the death-grip upon American
-commerce, as some day she will hold the death-grip upon America's very
-existence. When the Butcher thrusts the knife the swine dies. And, we,
-the supermen--the foremost in trade, in arms, in science, in art, in
-thought--we, the Germans, will that day come into our place in the sun!"
-
-"_Der Tag!_" pronounced von Kuhlmann, reverently, and with another
-clicking salute, he retired.
-
-At two o'clock Connie found himself once more in Metzger's office. The
-head of the Syndicate handed him a copy of a typed paper which the boy
-read carefully. Then, very carefully he read it again.
-
-"This seems to cover all the points. It suits me. You made two copies,
-did you?"
-
-Metzger nodded. "And, now we will sign?" he asked, picking up a pen from
-the desk, and touching a button. Von Kuhlmann appeared in the doorway.
-"Just witness these signatures," said Metzger.
-
-"If it's just the same to you, I saw Mike Gillum, one of your foremen,
-waiting out there; I would rather he witnessed the signing."
-
-"What's this? What do you mean?"
-
-"Nothing--only I know Mike Gillum. He's honest. I'd like him to
-witness."
-
-"Send Gillum in!" commanded Metzger, glaring at the boy, and when the
-Irishman appeared, he said brusquely. "Witness the signature to a
-contract for the sale of some logs." Arranging the papers he signed each
-copy with a flourish, and offered the pen to Connie.
-
-The boy smiled. "Why, I can't sign it," he said. "You see, I'm a minor.
-It wouldn't be legal. It wouldn't bind either one of us to anything. If
-the deal didn't suit me after the logs were here, I could claim that I
-had no right to make the contract, and the courts would uphold me. Or,
-if it didn't suit you, you could say 'It is a mere scrap of paper.'"
-
-Metzger jerked the thick glasses from his nose and glared at the boy.
-"What now? You mean you have no authority to make this contract? You
-have been jesting? Making a fool of me--taking up my time--living at my
-expense--and all for nothing?"
-
-Connie laughed at the irate magnate: "Oh, no--not so bad as that. I have
-the authority to arrange the terms because I am a partner. It is only
-the legal part that interferes. Hurley, our walking boss has the power
-of attorney signed by my partner, who is not a minor. Hurley is
-authorized to sell logs and incur indebtedness for us. I will have to
-take those contracts up to our camp and get his signature. Then
-everything will be O.K."
-
-Metzger scowled: "Why did you not have this Hurley here?"
-
-"What, and leave a couple of hundred men idle in the woods? That would
-not be good business, would it? I'll take the contracts and have them
-signed and witnessed, and return yours by registered mail within two
-days."
-
-The head of the Syndicate shot a keen sidewise glance at the boy who was
-chatting with Mike Gillum, as he selected a heavy envelope, slipped the
-two copies of the contract into it, and passed it over. Connie placed
-the envelope in an inner pocket and, buttoning his coat tightly, bade
-Metzger good-bye, and passed out of the door.
-
-Alone in the office Metzger frowned at his desk, he drew quick, thin
-lined figures upon his blotting pad: "These Americans," he repeated
-contemptuously under his breath. "To send a boy to do business with
-_me_--a past master of business! The fools! The smug, self-satisfied,
-helpless fools--I know not whether to pity or to laugh! And, yet, this
-boy has a certain sort of shrewdness. I had relied, in case anything
-went wrong with our plan, upon voiding the contract in court. However,
-von Kuhlmann is clever. He has been this week on the field. His judgment
-is unerring. _He is German!_"
-
-Late that evening, clad once more in his woodsman's garb, Connie Morgan
-sat upon the plush cushion of a railway coach, with his new leather
-suitcase at his feet, and smiled at the friendly twinkling lights of the
-farm-houses, as his train rushed northward into the night.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIX
-
-THE UNMASKING OF SLUE FOOT MAGEE
-
-
-Connie Morgan did not leave the train at Dogfish Spur, but kept on to
-the county seat. In the morning he hunted up the sheriff, a bluff
-woodsman who, until his election to office, had operated as an
-independent stumpage contractor.
-
-"Did you arrest three I. W. W.'s in Mike Gillum's camp on Willow River a
-while back?" he asked, when the sheriff had offered him a chair in his
-office in the little court-house.
-
-"D'you mean those two-legged skunks that tried to brain Hurley when he
-was bringin' 'em in fer tryin' to burn out his camp?"
-
-"Those are the ones."
-
-"They're here. An' by the time they got here they know'd they hadn't
-be'n on no Sunday-school picnic, too. Doc swore out the warrants, an' I
-deputized Limber Bill Bradley, an' Blinky Hoy to go an' fetch 'em in.
-'Treat 'em kind,' I tells 'em when they started. But, judgin' by looks
-when they got 'em out here, they didn't. You see, them boys was brought
-up rough. Limber Bill mixed it up with a bear one time, an' killed him
-with a four-inch jack-knife, an' Blinky Hoy--they say he eats buzz-saws
-fer breakfast. So here they be, an' here they'll stay 'til June court.
-They started hollerin' fer a p'liminary hearin', soon as they got here,
-but I know'd Hurley was strainin' hisself fer a good showin' this year,
-an' wouldn't want to stop an' come down to testify, so I worked a
-technicality on 'em to prevent the hearin'."
-
-"A technicality?"
-
-"Yeh, I shuck my fist in under their nose an' told 'em if they demanded
-a hearing, they'd git it. But it would be helt up in Hurley's camp, an'
-Limber Bill, an' Blinky Hoy would chaperoon 'em up, an' provided they
-was enough left of 'em to bother with after the hearin' them same two
-would fetch 'em back. So they changed their minds about a hearin', and
-withdraw'd the demand."
-
-Connie laughed: "I'm Hurley's clerk, and I just dropped down to tell
-you that if those fellows should happen to ask you how you got wind of
-where they were hiding, you might tell them that Slue Foot Magee tipped
-them off."
-
-"If they'd happen to ask!" exclaimed the sheriff. "They've b'en tryin'
-every which way they know'd how to horn it out of me, ever since they
-got out here. What about Slue Foot? I never did trust that bird--never
-got nothin' on him--but always livin' in hopes."
-
-"I happen to know that Slue Foot is an I. W. W., and if these fellows
-think he doubled-crossed them, they might loosen up with some
-interesting dope, just to even things up. You see, it was Slue Foot who
-advised them to go to Willow River."
-
-"O-ho, so that's it!" grinned the sheriff. "Well, mebbe, now they'll
-find that they _kin_ pump me a little after all."
-
-"And while I'm here I may as well swear out a couple of more warrants,
-too. You are a friend of Hurley's, and you want to see him make good."
-
-"You bet yer life I do! There's a man! He's played in hard luck all his
-life, an' if he's got a chanct to make good--I'm for him."
-
-"Then hold off serving these warrants 'til just before the break-up.
-When the thaw comes, you hurry up to Hurley's camp, and nab Slue Foot."
-The sheriff nodded, and Connie continued: "First I want him arrested for
-conspiring with the Syndicate in the theft of thirty-four thousand
-dollars' worth of logs during April and May of last year."
-
-"With the Syndicate--stealin' logs!"
-
-"Yes, if it hadn't been for that, Hurley would have made good last
-year."
-
-The sheriff's lips tightened: "If we can only rope in Heinie Metzger! He
-ruined me on a dirty deal. I had stumpage contracts with him. Then he
-tried to beat me with his money for sheriff, but he found out that John
-Grey had more friends in the woods than the Syndicate had. Go on."
-
-"Then, for conspiring to defraud certain sawyers by shading their cut.
-Then, for the theft of three thousand, five hundred dollars from Denny
-O'Sullivan. And, last, for conspiracy with the Syndicate to steal some
-three million feet of logs this year."
-
-The sheriff looked at the boy in open-eyed astonishment. "D'you mean you
-kin _proove_ all this?"
-
-"I think so. I can prove the theft of the money, and the shading the
-cut--when it comes to the timber stealing, with the Syndicate's money
-back of 'em, we'll have a harder time. But I've got the evidence."
-
-The sheriff grinned: "Well, when Slue Foot let go, he let go all holts,
-didn't he? If you've got the evidence to back you up, like you say you
-have, Slue Foot'll be usin' a number instead of a name fer the next
-lifetime er so."
-
-Shortly after noon of the tenth day, following his departure from camp,
-Connie stepped off the train at Dogfish Spur, to find Frenchy waiting
-for him with the tote-team. "Hurley say, 'you go long an' git de kid.
-She gon' for com' today--tomor'--sure, an' I ain' wan' heem git all tire
-out walkin' in.' Hurley lak you fine an' Saginaw lak you, but Slue Foot,
-she roar an' growl w'en you ain' here. Bye-m-bye, Hurley tell heem 'shut
-oop de mout', who's runnin' de camp?' an Slue Foot gon' back to Camp Two
-mad lak tondaire."
-
-The trip up was uneventful. Frenchy's "gran' team" was in fine fettle,
-and just as the men were filing into the cook's camp for supper, he
-swung the team into the clearing with a magnificent whoop and flourish.
-
-After supper, in the office, Lon Camden began to shuffle his reports,
-arranging them day by day for the boy's convenience. Saginaw and Hurley
-filled their pipes, and the former, with a vast assumption of
-nonchalance, removed his boots and cocked his heels upon the edge of his
-bunk. Hurley hitched his chair about until it faced the boy, and for a
-space of seconds glared at him through narrowed eyes.
-
-"Ye made a mistake to come back! Ye dhirty little thayfe! An' me
-offerin' to lind ye money!" The blood left Connie's face to rush back to
-it in a surge of red, and his lips tightened. "Oh, ye don't nade to
-pertind ye're insulted," the huge man's voice trembled with suppressed
-rage. "Ye had me fooled. Oi'd of soon caught wan av me own b'ys in a
-dhirty game--Oi thought that well av ye. But whin Slue Foot com' ragin'
-down whin he heer'd ye'd gon' for a wake er so, Oi misthrusted there was
-a rayson, so Oi tuk a luk at th' books, an' ut didn't take me long to
-find out yer dhirty cut-shadin' scheme."
-
-Connie met the glare eye for eye. "Yes," he answered, "it is a dirty
-deal, isn't it? I don't blame you fer bein' mad. I was, too, when I
-threw in with it--so mad I came near spilling the beans."
-
-Hurley was staring open mouthed. "Well, av all th' nerve!" he choked out
-the words.
-
-"But I held onto myself," continued the boy, "and now we've got the
-goods on Slue Foot--four ways from the jack. You noticed I kept a record
-of just how much has been shaved off from each man's cut? If I hadn't
-you would never have tumbled to the deal, no matter how long you studied
-the books. We are going to return that money to the sawyers who have it
-coming--but not yet. We want those false vouchers issued first. By the
-way, how much do you figure we've got on the landings, now?"
-
-"Eight million, seven hundred thousan'--and clost to three hundred
-thousan' layin' down. Th' thaw's right now in th' air--'an we're t'rough
-cuttin'. Tomorrow all hands wor-rks gittin' the logs to the rollways.
-But what's that to ye? An' what d'ye mane settin' there ca'm as a lake
-on a shtill noight, an' admittin' ye wuz in on a low-down swindle? An-ny
-wan 'ud think ye wuz accused av shwoipin' a doughnut off the cook!"
-
-"I'll come to that directly," answered the boy. "First, I wish you'd
-sign this contract. Saginaw or Lon will witness the signature. And we
-can get it into the mail tomorrow."
-
-"Contrack!" roared Hurley, snatching the paper from the boy's hand. The
-boss's eyes ran rapidly over the typewritten page, and with a low
-exclamation he moved the chair to the light. For ten minutes there was
-tense silence in the little office. Then Hurley looked up. "Fifty
-dollars a thousan'!" he gasped. "Fer an-nything from eight to tin
-million! Tin dollars a thousan', fer an-nything less nor eight million!
-From th' Syndicate!" With a bellow of rage the big boss leaped from his
-chair and stood over the boy. "Niver Oi've wanted to paste a man so
-bad!" he foamed. "Oi said ye wuz shmar-rt--an' ye ar-re. But ye ain't
-shmar-rt enough to put this over on me--ye an' Slue Fut--yer game is
-bushted!" He shook the paper under the boy's nose. "Somehow, ye figger
-on soide-thrackin' enough av thim logs to turn in less thin eight
-million--an the Syndicate gits the cut fer tin dollars a thousan'--an'
-ye an' Slue Fut divoides up the price av the logs that's missin'."
-
-Connie laughed. "You've hit the idea pretty well, boss--only you've got
-the wrong boot on the wrong foot."
-
-"What d'ye mane wid yer boots and futs? Oi see yer game, an' Oi know now
-ut it wuz Slue Fut had a hand in the lasht year's loosin'. Wait 'til Oi
-git me hands on thot dhirty cur! Wait--" In his wrath the man hurled the
-paper to the floor, and reached for his mackinaw with one hand, and his
-peavy with the other.
-
-Lon Camden sat looking on with bulging eyes, and beyond the stove
-Saginaw Ed shook with silent mirth as he wriggled his toes in his thick
-woollen socks.
-
-"Hold on, Hurley," said Connie, as he rescued the precious contract from
-the floor. "Just sit down a minute and let's get this thing straight. As
-soon as the thaw sets in, John Grey will be up to tend to Slue Foot. I
-swore out three or four warrants against him, besides what the I. W.
-W.'s are going to spill."
-
-"John Grey--warrants--I. W. W.'s." The man stood as one bewildered. "An'
-the kid ca'm as butter, flashin' contracks aroun' th' office, an' ownin'
-up he's a thayfe--an' Saginaw a-laughin' to hisself." He passed a rough
-hand across his forehead as the peavy crashed to the floor. "Mebbe,
-ut's all here," he babbled weakly. "Mebbe thim I. W. W.'s give me wan
-crack too many--an' me brain's let go."
-
-"Your brain's all right," said Connie. "Just sit down and light your
-pipe, and forget you're mad, and listen while I explain."
-
-Hurley sank slowly into his chair: "Sure, jist fergit Oi'm mad. Jist set
-by quiet an' let ye ate th' doughnut ye shwoiped off th' cook. Don't say
-nawthin' whoilst ye an' Slue Fut an' the Syndicate steals th' whole
-outfit. Mebbe if Oi'd take a little nap, ut wid be handier fer yez." The
-man's words rolled in ponderous sarcasm. Lon Camden arose and fumbled in
-his turkey. A moment later he tendered the boss a small screw-corked
-flask.
-
-"I know it's again' orders in the woods, boss. But I ain't a drinkin'
-man--only keep this in case of accident. Mebbe a little nip now would
-straighten you out."
-
-Hurley waved the flask aside: "No, Oi'm off thot stuff fer good! Ut done
-me har-rm in me younger days--but ut kin do me no more. Av Oi ain't
-going crazy, Oi don't nade ut. Av Oi am, ut's betther to be crazy an'
-sober, thin crazy an' drunk. Go on, b'y. Ye was goin' to mention
-somethin', Oi believe--an' av me name's Jake Hurley, ut betther be a
-chinful. In the first place, what business ye got wid contracks, an'
-warrants, an-nyhow?"
-
-"In the first place," grinned the boy, "I'm a partner of Waseche Bill,
-and one of the owners of this outfit. Here are the papers to show it."
-While Hurley studied the papers, Connie proceeded: "We got your report,
-and then a letter from Mike Gillum saying that you were in the pay of
-the Syndicate----"
-
-Hurley leaped to his feet: "Moike Gillum says Oi wuz in the pay of th'
-Syndicate! He's a dhirty----"
-
-"Yes, yes--I know all about that. Slue Foot is the man who is in the pay
-of the Syndicate--and he borrowed your name." Hurley subsided, somewhat,
-but his huge fists continued to clench and unclench as the boy talked.
-"So I came down to see what the trouble was. It didn't take me long,
-after I had been with you for a while, to find out that you are
-square as a die--and that Slue Foot is as crooked as the trail of a
-snake. I pretended to throw in with him, and he let me in on the
-cut-shading--and later on the big steal--the scheme they worked on you
-last winter, that turned a twenty-thousand-dollar profit into a
-fourteen-thousand-dollar loss. When I got onto his game, I asked for a
-leave of absence and went down and closed the deal with the
-Syndicate--or rather, I let Heinie Metzger and von Kuhlmann close a deal
-with me. I had doped it all out that, if Metzger believed Slue Foot
-could prevent the delivery of part of the logs, he'd offer most anything
-for the whole eight million, because he knew he would never have to pay
-it, providing he could get the figure way down on anything less than
-eight million. So I stuck out for fifty dollars a thousand on the eight
-million, and he pretended it was just tearing his heart out; at the same
-time I let him get me down to ten dollars a thousand on the short
-cut--And we don't care how little he offered for that, because _we're
-going to deliver the whole cut_!"
-
-Hurley was staring into the boy's face in open-mouthed incredulity. "An'
-ye mane to say, ye wint to Minneapolis an' hunted up Heinie Metzger
-hisself, an' let him make a contrack that'll lose him three or foor
-hundred thousan' dollars? Heinie Metzger--the shrewdest lumberman
-in the wor-rld. Th' man that's busted more good honest min than he
-kin count! Th' man that howlds th' big woods in the holler av his
-hand! An' ye--a b'y, wid no hair on his face, done thot? Done ut
-deliberate--figgered out befoor hand how to make Heinie Metzger bate
-hisself--an' thin went down an' _done ut_?"
-
-Connie laughed: "Sure, I did. Honestly, it was so easy it is a shame to
-take the money. Heinie Metzger ain't shrewd--he just thinks he is--and
-people have taken him at his own valuation. I told Saginaw the whole
-thing, before I went down. Didn't I, Saginaw?"
-
-"You sure did. But I didn't think they was any such thing as puttin' it
-acrost. An' they's a whole lot more yet the kid's did, boss. Fer one
-thing, he's got them three I. W. W. 's locked in jail. An'----"
-
-Hurley waved his arm weakly: "Thot's enough--an' more thin enough fer
-wan avenin'. Th' rist Oi'll take in small doses." He struggled into his
-mackinaw and reached fer the peavy that lay where it had fallen beside
-the stove.
-
-"Where ye headin', boss?" asked Saginaw.
-
-"Camp Two. Oi've a little conference to howld with the boss up there."
-
-Lon Camden removed his pipe and spat accurately and judiciously into the
-woodbox. "The kid's right, Hurley," he said. "Let John Grey handle Slue
-Foot. All reason says so. If anything should happen to you just before
-the drive, where'd the kid's contract be? He's done his part, givin' the
-Syndicate the first good wallop it ever got--now it's up to you to do
-yourn. If you lay Slue Foot out, when John Grey comes he wouldn't have
-no choist but to take you along--so either way, we'd lose out."
-
-"But," roared Hurley, "s'pose John Grey don't show up befoor the drive?
-Thin Slue Fut'll be free to plot an' kape us from deliverin' thim logs."
-
-"Slue Foot's done!" cried Connie. "He can't hurt us now. You see, the
-Syndicate people furnished him with a paint that looks just like the
-regular branding paint. When the logs have been in the water a short
-time the paint all comes off--And, last year, with you bossing the rear
-drive, by the time they got to the mills all the logs they dared to
-steal were wearing the green triple X."
-
-"An' ye mane he's got thot wash-off stuff on them logs now?"
-
-"On about three million feet of 'em," answered the boy. "All we've got
-to do is to sit tight until John Grey comes for Slue Foot, and then put
-a crew to work and brand the logs with regular paint and get 'em into
-the water." The boy laughed aloud, "And you bet I want to be right at
-the sorting gap, when old Heinie Metzger sees the sixth, and seventh,
-and eighth, and ninth million come floating along--with the red
-block-and-ball bobbing all shiny and wet in the sun! Oh, man! Old
-Heinie, with his eyeglasses, and his store clothes!"
-
-Hurley banged the peavy down upon the wooden floor. "An' ut's proud
-Oi'll be to be sthandin' be yer soide whin them logs rolls in. Ut's as
-ye say, best to let th' law deal with Slue Foot. Yez nade have no
-fear--from now on 'til John Grey sets fut in th' clearin'--fer all an-ny
-wan w'd know, me an' Slue Foot could be brother-in-laws."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XX
-
-CONNIE DELIVERS HIS LOGS
-
-
-The following days were busy ones in the two camps in Dogfish. Connie
-worked day and night to catch up on his books, and while Saginaw
-superintended the building of the huge bateau, and the smoothing out of
-the rollways, Hurley and Slue Foot kept the rest of the crew at work
-hauling logs to the landings. Spring came on with a rush, and the fast
-softening snow made it necessary for the hauling to be done at night.
-The thud of axes, the whine of saws, and the long crash of falling
-trees, was heard no more in the camps, while all night long the woods
-resounded to the calls of teamsters and swampers, as huge loads of logs
-were added to the millions of feet already on the rollways.
-
-Then came a night when the thermometer failed to drop to the freezing
-point. The sky hung heavy with a thick grey blanket of clouds, a steady
-drenching rain set in, and the loggers knew that so far as the woods
-were concerned, their work was done. Only a few logs remained to be
-hauled, and Hurley ordered these peeled and snaked to the skidways to
-await the next season.
-
-The men sang and danced in the bunkhouse that night to the wheeze of an
-accordion and the screech of an old fiddle. They crowded the few
-belongings which they would take out of the woods with them into
-ridiculously small compass, and talked joyfully and boisterously of the
-drive--for, of all the work of the woods it is the drive men most love.
-And of all work men find to do, the log drive on a swollen, quick-water
-river is the most dangerous, the most gruelling, and the most torturing,
-when for days and nights on end, following along rough shores, fighting
-underbrush, rocks, and backwater, clothing half torn from their bodies,
-and the remnants that remain wet to their skin, sleeping in cat-naps
-upon the wet ground, eating out of their hands as they follow the logs,
-cheating death by a hair as they leap from log to log, or swarm out to
-break a jam--of all work, the most gruelling, yet of all work the most
-loved by the white-water birlers of the north.
-
-Next morning water was flowing on top of the ice on Dogfish, and the big
-bateau was man-hauled to the bank and loaded with supplies and a
-portable stove. Strong lines were loaded into her, and extra axes,
-pickpoles, and peavys, and then, holding themselves ready to man the
-river at a moment's notice, the crew waited.
-
-And that morning, also appeared John Grey, worn out and wet to the
-middle by his all night's battle with the deep, saturated slush of the
-tote road. He had started from Dogfish with a horse and a side-bar
-buggy, but after a few miles, he had given up the attempt to drive
-through, and had unharnessed the horse and turned it loose to find its
-way back, while he pushed on on foot. After a prodigious meal, the
-sheriff turned in and slept until noon. When he awoke, his eyes rested
-for a moment on Connie, and he turned to Hurley: "Quite some of a clerk
-you got holt of, this season, Jake," he said, with a twinkle in his eye.
-
-"Yeh," replied Hurley, drily. "He's done fairly good--for a greener. I
-mistrusted, after he'd be'n in here a spell, that he wasn't just a
-pick-up of a kid--but, I didn't hardly think he'd turn out to be the
-owner."
-
-"Owner?"
-
-"Yup. Him an' his pardner owns this timber, an' the kid come down to
-find out what the trouble was----"
-
-"Y'ain't tellin' me a kid like him----"
-
-"Yup--they come that way--up in Alasky. He's put in a year with the
-Canady Mounted, too. I ain't a-braggin' him up none, but I'm right here
-to tell you that what that there kid don't know ain't in the books--an'
-he kin put over things that makes the smartest men me an' you ever
-heer'd of look like pikers."
-
-John Grey smiled, and the boss continued: "Oh, you needn't laff! Old
-Heinie Metzger busted _you_, didn't he? An' he busted a-many another
-good man. But this here kid slipped down an' put a contrack over on him
-that'll cost him between three an' four hundred thousand dollars of his
-heart's blood. The contrack is all signed and delivered, an' when
-Dogfish lets go tonight or tomorrow, the logs'll start."
-
-"Where is Slue Foot?" asked the sheriff, after listening to Hurley's
-explanation.
-
-"Up to Camp Two, we'll be goin' up there now. Me an' you an' the kid
-an' Lon'll go long. An' a crew of men with paint buckets and brushes.
-Saginaw, he'll have to stay here to boss the breakin' out of the
-rollways, in case she let's go before we git back."
-
-At the edge of Camp Two's clearing Hurley called a halt: "We'll wait
-here 'til the kid gits Slue Foot's signature to them vouchers. When ye
-git 'em kid, open the door an' spit out into the snow--then we'll come."
-
-"I'll just keep out these," grinned Slue Foot, as he selected the false
-vouchers from the sheaf of good ones, "so them birds don't git no chanct
-to double-cross me. You've done yer part first rate, kid. There's a
-little better than three million feet on the rollways that'll be wearin'
-the green triple X again they hit the sortin' gap. Von Kuhlmann was up
-here hisself to make sure, an' they's goin' to be a bunch of coin in it
-fer us--because he says how the owner is down to Minneapolis an'
-contracted fer the whole cut, an' old Heinie Metzger made a contrack
-that'll bust this here Alasky gent. He'll be so sick of the timber game,
-he'll run every time he hears the word log spoke. An' Hurley--he's broke
-fer good an' all. I be'n layin' to git him good--an' I done it, an' at
-the same time, I made a stake fer myself."
-
-Connie nodded, and opening the door, spat into the snow. A moment later
-there was a scraping of feet. The door opened, and John Grey, closely
-followed by Hurley and Lon Camden, entered the office.
-
-"Hullo, John," greeted Slue Foot. "Huntin' someone, er be ye up here
-tryin' to git some pointers on how to make money loggin'?"
-
-The sheriff flushed angrily at the taunt: "A little of both, I guess,"
-he answered evenly.
-
-"Who you huntin'?"
-
-"You."
-
-"Me! What d'you want of me? What I be'n doin'?"
-
-"Oh, nothin' to speak of. Countin' the four warrants the kid, here,
-swore out, I only got nine agin ye--the other five is on information
-swore to by yer three friends down in jail."
-
-With a roar of hate, Slue Foot sprang straight at Connie, but Hurley who
-had been expecting just such a move, met him half way--met his face with
-a huge fist that had behind it all the venom of the big boss's pent-up
-wrath. Slue Foot crashed into a corner, and when he regained his feet
-two steel bracelets coupled with a chain encircled his wrists. The man
-glared in sullen defiance while the sheriff read the warrants arising
-out of the information of the three I. W. W.'s. But when he came to the
-warrants Connie had sworn out, the man flew into a fury of impotent
-rage--a fury that gradually subsided as the enormity of the offences
-dawned on him and he sank cowering into a chair, wincing visibly as he
-listened to the fateful words. "So you see," concluded the sheriff, "the
-State of Minnesota is mighty interested in you, Slue Foot, so much
-interested that I shouldn't wonder if it would decide to pay yer board
-and lodgin' fer the rest of yer natural life."
-
-"If I go over the road there'll be others that goes too. There's them in
-Minneapolis that holds their nose pretty high that's into this as deep
-as me. An' if I kin knock a few years offen my own time, by turnin'
-State's evidence, yer kin bet yer life I'll spill a mouthful." Suddenly
-he turned on Connie: "An' you," he screamed, "you dirty little
-double-crosser! What be you gittin' out of this?"
-
-"Well," answered the boy, "as soon as the crew out there on the rollways
-get the red block-and-ball in good honest paint on the ends of those
-logs, I'll get quite a lot out of it. You see I own the timber."
-
-[Illustration: HURLEY HAD REMAINED AT THE UPPER CAMP, AND AS THE DRIVE
-AT LAST BEGAN TO THIN OUT, HE CAME FLOATING DOWN, STANDING ERECT UPON A
-HUGE LOG.]
-
-Just at daylight the following morning the Dogfish River burst its
-prison of ice and "let go" with a rush and a grind of broken cakes;
-breakfast was bolted, and the men of the drive swarmed to the bank where
-they stood by to break-out the rollways as soon as the logs from the
-upper Camp began to thin out. Connie stood beside the big bateau with
-the cook and John Grey and watched Camp Two's drive rush past--a
-floating floor of logs that spanned the river from bank to bank. Hurley
-had remained at the upper Camp and as the drive at last began to thin
-out, he came floating down, standing erect upon a huge log. When
-opposite the camp the big boss leaped nimbly from log to log until he
-reached the bank, where Saginaw stood ready to order out the breaking
-out of the first rollway. Many of the men of the upper drive had passed,
-riding as Hurley had done upon logs--others straggled along the shore,
-watching to see that no trouble started at the bends, and still others
-formed the rear drive whose business it was to keep the stranded logs
-and the jill-pokes moving.
-
-So busy were all hands watching the logs that nobody noticed the
-manacled Slue Foot crawl stealthily from the bateau and slip to the
-river's brink. A big log nosed into shore and the former boss of Camp
-Two leaped onto it, his weight sending it out into the current. The plan
-might have worked, for the next bend would have thrown Slue Foot's log
-to the opposite bank of the river before any one could possibly have
-interfered, but luck willed otherwise, for the moment the unfortunate
-Slue Foot chose as the moment of his escape was the same moment Saginaw
-Ed gave the word for the breaking-out of the first rollway. There was a
-sharp order, a few well-directed blows of axes, a loud snapping of
-toggle-pins, and with a mighty roar the towering pile of logs shot down
-the steep bank and took the river with a splash that sent a wave of
-water before it.
-
-Then it was that the horrified spectators saw Slue Foot, his log caught
-in the wave, frantically endeavouring to control, with his calked boots,
-its roll and pitch. For a moment it seemed as if he might succeed, but
-the second rollway let go and hurtled after the first, and then the
-third, and the fourth--rolling over each other, forcing the tumbling,
-heaving, forefront farther and farther into the stream, and nearer and
-nearer to Slue Foot's wildly pitching log. By this time word had passed
-to the men at the rollways and the fifth was held, but too late to save
-Slue Foot, for a moment later the great brown mass of rolling tumbling
-logs reached him, and before the eyes of the whole crew, the boss of
-Camp Two disappeared for ever, and the great brown mass rolled on.
-
-"Mebbe ut's best," said Hurley, as with a shudder he turned away, "'tis
-a man's way to die--in the river--an' if they's an-ny wan waitin' fer
-him um back there, they'll think he died loike a man." In the next
-breath he bellowed an order and the work of the rollways went on.
-
-It was at the first of his cleverly planned obstructions that Hurley
-overtook the head of the drive, and it was there that he encountered
-Long Leaf Olson and the men of the Syndicate crew.
-
-Long Leaf was ranting and roaring up and down the bank, vainly ordering
-his men to break the jam, and calling malediction upon the logs, the
-crew, river, and every foot of land its water lapped. Hurley had ordered
-Saginaw to the rear drive, promising to hold the waters back with his
-jams, and now he approached the irate Long Leaf, a sack of dynamite over
-his shoulder and a hundred picked men of his two crews at his back.
-
-"Call yer men off thim logs!" he bellowed, "Thim's my logs on the head
-end, an' I want 'em where they're at."
-
-"Go on back to the rear end where you belong!" screeched Long Leaf;
-"I'll learn you to git fresh with a Syndicate drive! Who d'you think you
-be, anyhow?"
-
-"Oi'll show ye who I be, ye Skanjehoovyan Swade! An' Oi'll show ye who's
-runnin' this drive! Oi'm bossin' th' head ind mesilf an' Saginaw Ed's
-bossin' the rear, an' av ye've fouled our drive, ye'll play the game our
-way! What do Oi care fer yer Syndicate? Ye ain't boss of nawthin' on
-this river this year--ye' ain't aven boss of the bend-watchers!"
-
-Long Leaf, who's river supremacy had heretofore been undisputed, for the
-simple reason that no outfit had dared to incur the wrath of the
-Syndicate, stared at the huge Irishman in astonishment. Then placing his
-fingers to his lips he gave a peculiar whistle, and instantly men
-swarmed from the jam, and others appeared as if by magic from the woods.
-In a close-packed mob, they centred about their boss. "Go git 'em!"
-roared Long Leaf, beside himself with rage. "Chase the tooth-pickers off
-the river!"
-
-"Aye, come on!" cried Hurley. "Come on yez spalpeens! Come on, chase us
-off th' river--an' whoilst yer chasin' ye bether sind wan av ye down to
-Owld Heinie fer to ship up a big bunch av long black boxes wid shiney
-handles, er they'll be a whole lot of lumberjacks that won't go out av
-the woods at all, this spring!"
-
-As the men listened to the challenge they gazed uneasily toward the crew
-at Hurley's back. One hundred strong they stood and each man that did
-not carry an axe or a peavy, had thoughtfully provided himself with a
-serviceable peeled club of about the thickness of his wrist.
-
-"Git at 'em!" roared Long Leaf, jumping up and down in his tracks. But
-the men hesitated, moved forward a few steps, and stopped.
-
-"They hain't nawthin' in my contrack calls fer gittin' a cracked bean,"
-said one, loud enough to be heard by the others. "Ner mine," "ner mine,"
-"ner mine." "Let old Metzger fight his own battles, he ain't never done
-nawthin' to me but skinned me on the wanagan." "What would we git if we
-did risk our head?" "Probably git docked fer the time we put in
-fightin'." Rapidly the mutiny spread, each man taking his cue from the
-utterance of his neighbour, and a few minutes later they all retired,
-threw themselves upon the wet ground, and left Long Leaf to face Hurley
-alone.
-
-"Git out av me road," cried the big Irishman, "befoor Oi put a shtick av
-giant in under ye an' blow ye out!" Long Leaf backed away and,
-proceeding to a point opposite the jam, Hurley seated himself upon a
-log, and calmly filled his pipe.
-
-"If you think you're bossin' this drive, why in tarnation ain't you
-busted this jam," growled Long Leaf, as he came up a few minutes later.
-
-"They ain't no hurry, me b'y, not a bit of a hurry. They'll be another
-wan just a moile above th' mouth. Ut's a way good river-min has got to
-let the rear drive ketch up."
-
-"You wait 'til Metzger hears of this!" fumed Long Leaf.
-
-Hurley laughed: "Oi'll be there at th' tellin'. An' you wait 'til
-Metzger sees eight er noine million feet av my logs slidin' t'rough his
-sortin' gap--an' him havin' to pay fifty dollars a thousand fer um. D'ye
-think he'll doie av a stroke, er will he blow up?"
-
-"What do you mean--eight million--fifty dollars----"
-
-Hurley laughed tantalizingly: "Wait an' see. 'Twill be worth th' proice
-av admission." And not another word could Long Leaf get out of him.
-
-During the previous summer Hurley had studied his ground well. For
-several miles above the jam the river flowed between high banks, and it
-was that fact that made his scheme practicable, for had the land
-extended back from the river in wide flats or meadows, the backwater
-from the jam would have scattered his drive far and wide over the
-country. It was mid-afternoon when the rear-drive crew came up and then
-it was that Hurley, bearing a bundle of yellow cylinders, crept out
-along the face of the jam. A quarter of an hour later he came crawling
-back and joined the men who watched from the edge of the timber. Five
-minutes passed and the silence of the woods was shattered by a dull
-boom. The whole mass of logs that had lain, heaped like jack-straws in
-the bed of the river, seemed to lift bodily. A few logs in the forefront
-were hurled into the air to fall with a noisy splash into the river, or
-with a crash upon the trembling mass that settled slowly into the stream
-again. For an instant the bristling wall quivered uncertainly, moved
-slowly forward, hesitated, and then with a roar, the centre shot
-forward, the sides tumbled in upon the logs that rushed through from
-behind, and the great drive moved.
-
-The breaking of the second jam was a repetition of the first, and when
-the drive hit the big river there were left on the bars and rock-ledges
-of the Dogfish only a few stragglers that later could be dry-rolled by a
-small crew into the stream and rafted down.
-
-The crew worked indefatigably. Lumbermen said it was as pretty a drive
-as ever took water. In the cook's bateau Connie and Steve worked like
-Trojans to serve the men with hot coffee and handouts that were kept on
-tap every minute of the day and night.
-
-At the various dams along the great river the boy never tired of
-standing beside Hurley and watching the logs sluiced through, and at
-last, with Anoka behind them, it was with a wildly beating heart that he
-stepped into a skiff and took his place in the stern beside Hurley,
-while the brawny men of the sorting crew worked their way to the front
-of the drive.
-
-As the black smudge that hovered over the city of mills deepened, the
-boy gazed behind him at the river of logs--his logs, for the most part;
-a mighty pride of achievement welled up within him--the just pride of a
-winter's work well done.
-
-News of the drive had evidently preceded them, for when the skiff
-reached the landing of the Syndicate's sorting gap, the first persons
-the boy saw, standing at the end of the platform, apart from the men of
-the sorting crew, were Metzger and von Kuhlmann.
-
-The former greeting Connie with his oily smile. "Ah, here we have the
-youthful financier, himself," he purred. "He has accompanied his logs
-all the way down the river, counting them and putting them to bed each
-night, like the good mother looks after the children. I am prepared to
-believe that he has even named each log."
-
-"That's right," answered the boy evenly. "The first log to come through
-is named Heinie, and the last log is named Connie--and between the two
-of them there are four hundred and fifty thousand dollars' worth of
-assorted ones--you're going to pay for them--so I left the naming to
-you."
-
-Metzger shot him a keen glance: "How many logs have you brought down?"
-
-"About nine million feet of mine, and about three million and a half of
-yours--from your Dogfish Camp--at least that's what we estimated when we
-sluiced through at Anoka."
-
-Von Kuhlmann had turned white as paper: "Where's Hurley?" he asked in a
-shaky voice.
-
-[Illustration: CONNIE PLACED HIS HAND AFFECTIONATELY UPON THE ARM OF THE
-BIG BOSS WHO STOOD AT HIS SIDE GRINNING BROADLY.]
-
-Connie placed his hand affectionately upon the arm of the big boss who
-stood at his side grinning broadly: "This is Jake Hurley--my foreman,"
-he announced, and then to the boss: "The old one is Heinie Metzger, and
-the shaky one's von Kuhlmann."
-
-"But," faltered von Kuhlmann--"there iss some mistake! Hurley I haff
-seen--I know him. I say he iss not Hurley! There iss a mistake!"
-
-"Yes, there's a mistake all right--and you made it," laughed the boy.
-"And it's a mistake that cost your boss, there, dearly. The man you
-have been dealing with was not Hurley at all. He passed himself off for
-Hurley, and last year he got away with it. Your game is up--you crooks!
-The three million feet that Slue Foot Magee, alias Hurley, branded with
-your disappearing paint, have all been repainted with good, honest,
-waterproof paint--and, _here they come!_" As the boy spoke, a log
-scraped along the sheer-boom, and for a moment all eyes rested upon the
-red block-and-ball, then instantly lifted to the thousands of logs that
-followed it.
-
-Several days later when the boom scale had been verified, Connie again
-presented himself at the office of the Syndicate and was shown
-immediately to Metzger's private room. The magnate received him with
-deference, even placing a chair for him with his own hands. "I hardly
-know how to begin, _Herr_ Morgan----"
-
-"_Connie Morgan_," snapped the boy. "And as far as I can see you can
-begin by dating a check for four hundred and forty-eight thousand, three
-hundred and twenty dollars--and then you can finish by signing it, and
-handing it over."
-
-"But, my dear young man, the price is exorbitant--my stockholders in
-Germany--they will not understand. It will be my ruin."
-
-"Why did you agree to it then? Why did you sign the contract?"
-
-"Ah, you do not understand! Allow me----"
-
-"I understand this much," said Connie, his eyes flickering with wrath,
-"that you'd have held me to my bargain and taken my logs for ten dollars
-a thousand, and ruined me, if I hadn't been wise to your dirty game."
-
-"Ah, no! We should have adjusted--should have compromised. I would
-have been unwilling to see you lose! And yet, you would see me
-lose--everything--my position--my friends in Germany--surely your heart
-is not so hard. There should be fellowship among lumbermen----"
-
-"Is that the reason you ruined John Grey, and Lige Britton, and Lafe
-Weston, and poor old Jim Buck? Every one of them as square a man as ever
-lived--and every one of them an independent logger, 'til you ruined
-them! What did you answer when they sat right in this office and begged
-for a little more time--a little more credit--a little waiver of toll
-here and there? Answer me that! You bloodsucking weasel!" The cowardly
-whine of the beaten German made the boy furious. He was upon his feet,
-now, pounding the desk with his fist.
-
-A crafty gleam shot from Metzger's eyes, and abruptly he changed his
-tactics: "Let us not abuse each other. It is probable we can come to an
-agreement. You are smart. Come in with us. I can use you--in von
-Kuhlmann's place. I paid von Kuhlmann eighteen-hundred a year. Make a
-concession to me on the contract and I will employ you with a ten year
-contract, at ten thousand a year. We are a big corporation; we will
-crush out the little ones! I can even offer you stock. We will tighten
-our grip on the timber. We will show these Americans----"
-
-"Yes," answered the boy, his voice trembling with fury, "we'll show
-these Americans--we'll show 'em what _fools_ they are to allow a lot of
-wolves from across the water to come over here and grab off the best
-we've got. I'm an American! And I'm proud of it! And what's more, I'll
-give you just five minutes to write that check, Metzger, and if it isn't
-in my hands when the time's up, I'll get out an attachment that'll tie
-up every dollar's worth of property you own in the State, from the mills
-to your farthest camp. I'll tie up your logs on the rollways--and by the
-time you get the thing untangled you won't have water enough to get
-them to the river. You've got three minutes and a half left."
-
-Slowly, with shaking fingers, Metzger drew the check, and without a
-word, passed it over to Connie, who studied it minutely, and then thrust
-it into his pocket. At the door he turned and looked back at Metzger who
-had sloughed low in his chair.
-
-"If you'd listened to those other men--John Grey and the others you've
-busted, when they were asking for favours that meant nothing to you, but
-meant ruin to them if you withheld them--if you'd played the game square
-and decent--you wouldn't be busted now. And, when you get back to
-Germany, you might tell your friends over there that unless they change
-their tactics, someday, something is going to happen that will wake
-America up! And if you're a fair specimen of your kind, when America
-does wake up, it will be good-bye Germany!" And as the door slammed upon
-the boy's heels, Metzger for a reason unaccountable to himself
-shuddered.
-
-
-THE END
-
-
-
-
-Connie Morgan with the Mounted
-
-By
-
-James B. Hendryx
-
-Author of "Connie Morgan in Alaska"
-
-_Illustrated._
-
-
-It tells how "Sam Morgan's Boy," well known to readers of Mr. Hendryx's
-"Connie Morgan in Alaska," daringly rescued a man who was rushing
-to destruction on an ice floe and how, in recognition of his
-quick-wittedness and nerve, he was made a Special Constable in the
-Northwest Mounted Police, with the exceptional adventures that fell to
-his lot in that perilous service. It is a story of the northern
-wilderness, clean and bracing as the vigorous, untainted winds that
-sweep over that region; the story of a boy who wins out against the
-craft of Indians and the guile of the bad white man of the North; the
-story of a boy who succeeds where men fail.
-
-
-
-
-Connie Morgan in Alaska
-
-By
-
-James B. Hendryx
-
-Author of "The Promise," "The Law of the Woods," etc.
-
-_12o. Over twenty illustrations_
-
-
-Mr. Hendryx, as he has ably demonstrated in his many well-known tales,
-knows his Northland thoroughly, but he has achieved a reputation as a
-writer possibly "too strong" for the younger literary digestion. It is a
-delight, therefore, to find that he can present properly, in a capital
-story of a boy, full of action and adventure, and one in whom boys
-delight, the same thorough knowledge of people and customs of the North.
-
-
-
-
-The Quest of the Golden Valley
-
-By
-
-Belmore Browne
-
-Author of "The Conquest of Mount McKinley"
-
-_12o. Eight full-page illustrations_
-
-
-The story of a search for treasure which lies guarded by the fastnesses
-of nature in the ragged interior of Alaska. The penetration of these
-wilds by the boys who are the heroes of the story is a thrilling
-narrative of adventure, and with every step of the journey the lore of
-the open is learned. The reader follows them through the mountains
-wreathed in misty enchantment, over swollen rivers, into inviting
-valleys, until the great discovery of gold is made, and then the
-adventure does not close but may be said to reach its height, for a wily
-good-for-nothing, who, under false pretenses, has inveigled in his
-scheme some men innocent of wicked intent, attempts to steal the prize,
-and there follows a race of days through the northland, involving
-innumerable dangers and culminating in a splendid rescue.
-
-
-
-
-The White Blanket
-
-By
-
-Belmore Brown
-
-Author of "The Quest of the Golden Valley," etc.
-
-_12o. Illustrated_
-
-
-A sequel to _The Quest of the Golden Valley_, this time taking the chums
-through the vicissitudes of an Alaskan winter. They trap the many
-fur-bearing animals, hunt the big game, camp with the Indians, do
-dog-driving, snow-shoeing, etc. With the coming of spring they descend
-one of the wilderness rivers on a raft and at the eleventh hour, after
-being wrecked in a dangerous canyon, they discover a fabulous quartz
-lode, and succeed in reaching the sea coast.
-
-
-        G. P. Putnam's Sons
-    New York             London
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber's Notes:
-
-Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant
-preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.
-
-Simple typographical errors were corrected.
-
-Illustrations have been moved closer to the relevant text.
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Connie Morgan in the Lumber Camps, by
-James B. Hendryx
-
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