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diff --git a/old/61908-h/61908-h.htm b/old/61908-h/61908-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 6a5da04..0000000 --- a/old/61908-h/61908-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4828 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> -<head> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> -<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Scott Burton in the Blue Ridge, by Edward G. (Edward Gheen) Cheyney</title> - <link rel='coverpage' href='images/cover.jpg' /> - <style type="text/css"> - body { margin-left:8%;margin-right:8%; } - p { text-indent:1.15em; margin-top:0.1em; margin-bottom:0.1em; text-align:justify; } - /* headings */ - h1 { text-align:center; font-weight:normal; page-break-before: always; - font-size:1.4em; margin:2em auto 1em auto; } - h2 { text-align:center; font-weight:normal; page-break-before: always; - font-size:1.2em; margin:2em auto 1em auto; } - /* illustrations */ - .caption { text-indent:0; padding:0.5em 0; text-align:center; font-size:smaller; } - .figcenter { margin:1em auto; } - /* tables */ - table.toc { } - table { page-break-inside: avoid; } - table.tcenter { margin:0.5em auto; border-collapse: collapse; padding:3px; } - td.c1 { text-align:right; padding-right:0.7em; } - td.c2 { font-variant:small-caps; } - /* text divisions */ - div.chapter { page-break-before:always; margin-bottom:3em; } - div.section { margin-bottom:3em; padding-top:2em; page-break-before:always; } - /* line groups */ - div.cbline { margin-left:1.4em; text-indent:-1.4em; } - - h1.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 190%; - margin-top: 0em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - h2.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 135%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - page-break-before: avoid; - line-height: 1; } - h3.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 110%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - h4.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 100%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - hr.pgx { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1 class="pgx" title="header title">The Project Gutenberg eBook, Scott Burton in the Blue Ridge, by Edward G. -(Edward Gheen) Cheyney</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world 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 <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: Scott Burton in the Blue Ridge</p> -<p>Author: Edward G. (Edward Gheen) Cheyney</p> -<p>Release Date: April 23, 2020 [eBook #61908]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SCOTT BURTON IN THE BLUE RIDGE***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4 class="pgx" title="credit">E-text prepared by Roger Frank<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/scottburtoninblu00chey"> - https://archive.org/details/scottburtoninblu00chey</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class='section'> -<h1>SCOTT BURTON IN THE BLUE RIDGE</h1> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;'> -<div>Stories by EDWARD G. CHEYNEY</div> -</div> -<div style='text-align:center; margin-top:0.5em; margin-bottom:0.5em'> -<div style='display:inline-block; text-align:left;'> -<div class='cbline'>SCOTT BURTON, FORESTER</div> -<div class='cbline'>SCOTT BURTON ON THE RANGE</div> -<div class='cbline'>SCOTT BURTON AND THE TIMBER THIEVES</div> -<div class='cbline'>SCOTT BURTON, LOGGER</div> -<div class='cbline'>SCOTT BURTON IN THE BLUE RIDGE</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:80%; max-width:471px;'> -<img src='images/frontis.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -<p class='caption'>JIMMY TRIED DESPERATELY TO STAY HIS TEAM.</p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;'> -<div style='font-size:1.4em;'>SCOTT BURTON</div> -<div style='font-size:1.4em;'>IN THE BLUE RIDGE</div> -<div style='margin-top:1em;'>BY</div> -<div style='margin-bottom:0.7em;'>E. G. CHEYNEY</div> -<div style='font-size:0.9em;'>AUTHOR OF “SCOTT BURTON, FORESTER,”</div> -<div style='font-size:0.9em;'>“SCOTT BURTON, LOGGER,” ETC.</div> -<div style='margin-top:2em;'>D. APPLETON AND COMPANY</div> -<div>NEW YORK :: 1924 :: LONDON</div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;'> -<div style='font-size:0.9em;'>COPYRIGHT, 1924, BY </div> -<div style='font-size:0.9em;'>D. APPLETON AND COMPANY </div> -<div style='font-size:0.8em;'>PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<table class='toc tcenter' summary="" style='margin-bottom:3em'> -<thead> -<tr> -<th colspan='2' style='font-weight:normal;padding-bottom:1em;'>CONTENTS</th> -</tr> -</thead> -<tbody> -<tr><td class='c1'>I.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chI'>Off to a New Job</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>II.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chII'>The Mystery of the Two Stores</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>III.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chIII'>The Old Man’s Story</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>IV.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chIV'>Old Jarred</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>V.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chV'>Hopwood</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>VI.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chVI'>Scott Talks with the Agent</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>VII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chVII'>Scott Receives “Aid” from His Boss</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>VIII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chVIII'>Scott Loses His Neutrality</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>IX.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chIX'>Scott Makes Another Rescue</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>X.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chX'>Scott Meets Jarred</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XI.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXI'>A Visit to Jarred’s Cabin</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXII'>Scott Asks for Bids</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XIII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXIII'>Foster Wait Demands the Contract</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XIV.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXIV'>Scott Makes a Trip to Washington</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XV.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXV'>Scott Hears Some Rumblings of the Old Feud</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XVI.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXVI'>Scott Has an Interview with Sewall</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XVII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXVII'>Hopwood Takes a Trip</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XVIII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXVIII'>Dick Turns Gentleman</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XIX.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXIX'>Hopwood Throws Away His Iron Hat</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XX.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXX'>An Attempt at Arson</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XXI.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXI'>Scott Finds the Still</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XXII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXII'>Hopwood Gets Jarred’s Promise</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XXIII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXIII'>A Close Call</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XXIV.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXIV'>Scott Goes after the Marshal</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XXV.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXV'>Hopwood Sends Foster a Message</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XXVI.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXVI'>Foster Revives the Feud</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XXVII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXVII'>Scott Arrives at the Village</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XXVIII.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXVIII'>The End of the Feud</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='c1'>XXIX.</td><td class='c2'><a href='#chXXIX'>Jarred and Sewall Meet</a></td></tr> -</tbody> -</table> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;'> -<div style='font-size:1.4em;'>SCOTT BURTON IN THE BLUE RIDGE</div> -</div> -<h2 id='chI'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER I</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>OFF TO A NEW JOB</span></h2> -<p>The ticking of the old grandfather clock in the neat little New England -house was the only sound to break the stillness. So still it was that -any one approaching the house could have heard the clock distinctly and -would certainly have overlooked the silent figure in the old -rocking-chair. But a man was sitting there, nevertheless, completely -absorbed in his own thoughts.</p> -<p>An old gentleman appeared in the doorway and stood there for an instant -before he saw him. Then his face lighted up.</p> -<p>“Hello, Scott! I thought you had gone out and I wanted to talk to you -about your new assignment. Mother tells me that you have your sailing -orders now.”</p> -<p>The son looked at him with a smile, but his face still wore a puzzled -frown.</p> -<p>“Yes,” he said, “I have my sailing orders, but—”</p> -<p>“Good or bad?” his father interrupted anxiously. “You don’t look -overjoyed with them.” The old man was really worried.</p> -<p>“I don’t know just what to think of them,” Scott frowned once more and -opened the letter for the hundredth time. “They have assigned me to a -timber sales job in the North Carolina mountains.”</p> -<p>“Well, that sounds good enough. They say that is a beautiful country and -it is a place I have always wanted to see.”</p> -<p>“Oh, the country is all right,” Scott said brightening, “and I am crazy -to go there, only I had my mind set on going back to my old place in the -southwest.” And again he frowned. “It is not the country but the job -that I am afraid of. Sometimes I am almost sorry that I caught those -range thieves out there in Arizona.”</p> -<p>“Why, Scottie boy! If it had not been for that you would never be where -you are in the Service to-day,” his father remonstrated proudly.</p> -<p>“Oh, I know that it made me solid with the Forest Service and gave me a -chance at a supervisor’s job years before I would ordinarily have had -one, but they have been using me as a sort of detective ever since. I -was lucky enough to catch those timber thieves in Florida, but I am no -sleuth and I’ll fall down on that job sooner or later.”</p> -<p>“But, Scott, I don’t believe this is detective work. I expect they have -heard what a tremendous success you made of your own logging job last -winter and want you to look after the logging work down there.”</p> -<p>“Yes,” Scott admitted, “I think you are partly right. But why transfer -me down there when there are local men who understand those methods? -Logging in New Hampshire and logging in North Carolina are very -different propositions.”</p> -<p>“Maybe the local men cannot handle it and they know you can,” his father -suggested proudly.</p> -<p>“Of course that’s what you think, dad,” Scott said affectionately, “and -it may be what they think, but I am afraid that there is something else -wrong.”</p> -<p>This rather gloomy conversation was broken up by Mrs. Burton, who had -come to the doorway unnoticed. “Well, well, why worry over something you -don’t either of you know anything about? Maybe we do not know what you -are going to do in North Carolina, but we do know that you have to leave -us in the morning and we don’t want to waste what time we have left -worrying. Come on in to supper.”</p> -<p>Scott laughed. “All right, mother, you always say the sensible thing. -I’ll bet there is nothing wrong with the supper no matter what may be -the matter with the new job.”</p> -<p>So they went in to supper cheerfully enough and all three spent the -evening poring very busily over the atlas, and trying to see what they -could find out about the new country. Caspar, the little town where the -headquarters were located, was not shown on the old map, but they found -out a great deal about the country in general, and it was bedtime before -they knew it.</p> -<p>“There,” Mrs. Burton exclaimed cheerfully as they said good night, “I am -satisfied. I’d be willing to go to that country on any old kind of a -job.”</p> -<p>Scott was not ordinarily given to worrying much and by the time his -train pulled out of the quiet little Massachusetts village the next -morning he was looking forward eagerly to seeing this new country and -had forgotten all the imaginary troubles which the new work might bring.</p> -<p>His orders were to report direct to Caspar, but he had half a day -between trains in Washington and took the opportunity to visit the -Forest Service offices. He met a few friends and became personally -acquainted with a number of men who had before that been to him only a -name attached to the end of an official letter, but he learned nothing -definite in regard to his new work. The chief of the particular branch -in which Scott was employed was out of the office and the inspector who -was to meet him in Caspar had already gone to North Carolina. That -looked as though there must be something unusual there, but Scott -resolutely refused to worry about it any more and settled down in the -car seat to enjoy the scenery of Virginia, which was altogether new to -him.</p> -<p>The little shanties scattered all through the country and the grinning -black faces which crowded one end of the platform at every station -reminded him of Florida, but the country itself was very different. -Instead of the flat sand-plains covered with dense stands of yellow pine -the train wound through rolling clay hills and hardwood forests until it -lost itself in the foothills of the mountains just as the sun went down. -Scott peered eagerly out of the car window until he could no longer see -even the telegraph poles beside the track.</p> -<p>Morning found him at a junction point in the heart of the mountains. -These mountains were not like the Rocky Mountains as he had known them -in the southwest. There was none of that stark grandeur of the bare -rocky slopes and flat-top mesas, but there was a peaceful beauty about -them which reminded him more of the overgrown Massachusetts hills; soft -green slopes towering above the valley to a surprising height, -considering the low absolute altitude of the range. There was as much -difference between the valley and the mountain peak as there usually was -in the Rockies, but Scott remembered that the valleys in the Rockies -were as high as many of these peaks.</p> -<p>A little branch line carried him down a narrow valley between what -appeared to be flat-topped, unbroken ridges clothed in every kind of -hardwood tree that Scott had ever heard of, and capped with a rim of -dark green spruce which fitted over it like a black cape. Here and there -a peak rose conspicuously above the level ridge.</p> -<p>“It must be great in those forests,” Scott thought, “and the views from -those peaks ought to be worth seeing. I tell you there has got to be a -lot of trouble in this job if I can’t enjoy myself in this country.”</p> -<p>He was trying to catch a glimpse of a particularly high peak which -showed itself every now and then above the dark spruce ridge when the -conductor called, “Caspar,” and Scott had to hurry to get his pack sack -and suit case off the train at his headquarters.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chII'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER II</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>THE MYSTERY OF THE TWO STORES</span></h2> -<p>When the dinky little train pulled out and left Scott standing on the -platform, he realized why he had not seen the town of Caspar from the -car window. It consisted of a railroad station, two stores, four -dwelling houses and another large, decrepit-looking building which could -not easily be classified, and they were all on the other side of the -railroad track from Scott’s position in the car. From that side of the -train no one would have suspected the presence of a town anywhere in -that vicinity. The mountain slope came down almost to the railroad track -and the forest on that side was almost unbroken.</p> -<p>The station agent seemed quite interested at the sight of a stranger. He -watched Scott for a minute and seemed to be studying him in his own slow -way. Finally he seemed to decide that it would be safe to speak.</p> -<p>“Howdy! Stranger in these parts, be ye?” he drawled.</p> -<p>“Yes,” Scott said, “is there a hotel here or any place where a man can -stay?”</p> -<p>“Reckon you can stay at the hotel. Ain’t no place else you could stay in -this town and live.”</p> -<p>Scott thought at the time that that was a rather peculiar remark for any -one to make, but when he found that the station agent also ran the hotel -he charged it up to professional pride. When he saw the hotel he -wondered how any one could have any professional pride in it.</p> -<p>The hotel turned out to be the nondescript building which stood, or -rather sat, apart from the others at the end of the street. It was a -large, rambling, barn-like structure a story and a half high. Half a -dozen gables stuck up from the side of the roof. It looked very old and -its first coat of paint had never been renewed. The ground around it was -as bare as the weathered clapboarding. There was no sign of any attempt -at beautifying either grounds or building. A rough picket fence -separated it from the rest of the village, but just why no one could -tell, for the ground inside the fence was, if anything, more barren than -that outside. Altogether it was a forlorn-looking place.</p> -<p>The proprietor led Scott upstairs into a room large enough for a banquet -hall. It looked even more desolate, if possible, than the outside of the -house. It contained a bed covered with an old patch-work quilt and two -boxes—one to serve as a chair and the other as a washstand (you could -tell which was the washstand by the old tin basin half full of dirty -water).</p> -<p>Scott looked around the room in dismay, but he had made up his mind that -he would have to put up with it when he caught a sickening odor, as of a -dead mouse, that apparently came from the closet. That he could not -stand. He had heard of the touchiness of these people, and he did not -want to offend them, especially as he would probably have to make the -place his headquarters for some time. But he had to get out of there by -some means.</p> -<p>“You haven’t any bedroom on the first floor, have you?” he asked, trying -to conceal the disgust he actually felt. “I may be here a long time, and -there may be a great many people coming to see me, and a ground-floor -room would be much more convenient.”</p> -<p>“Shore, I reckon we can accommodate you,” the man said, and he led the -way apathetically downstairs again.</p> -<p>He opened a door off the long back porch and stepped back to let Scott -enter. It was a palace compared with the upstairs room. The furniture -was old, but everything was there down to a rag carpet on the floor, -and, moreover, everything looked clean.</p> -<p>“This will be fine,” Scott said as he glanced quickly about. “What time -do you have dinner?”</p> -<p>“Twelve o’clock, most times, but there ain’t anything certain about it.” -He paused at the door on his way out. “It ain’t none of my business, but -you ain’t a U. S. marshal, be you?”</p> -<p>“No,” Scott laughed, “nothing like that. Why, are there many moonshiners -around here?”</p> -<p>“I ain’t saying anything about moonshiners,” the man replied in the same -dull tone. “I was just going to tell you that this was a mighty -unhealthy country around here for the U. S. marshal.”</p> -<p>Scott did not know whether this was meant as a friendly warning or as a -threat, and before he could ask anything more about it the man was gone. -As he was not in any way connected with the United States marshal, he -thought no more about it.</p> -<p>Left to himself, he began to examine the room more closely. It was clean -all right, but the general effect of it was most grotesque. The high, -carved head-board of the old walnut bed might have had a place in a -medieval museum, but here in this room it looked out of place like -everything else in it. When Scott’s eyes fell on the wall paper, he -stood aghast. He counted thirty-seven different patterns, each a small -square evidently taken from a country storekeeper’s sample book, and -only a third of the wall was covered. The east window was heavily -curtained with portières, lace curtains and a shade. Scott peeped out. -It opened almost into the mountainside and no human habitation was in -sight. The glass door opening on to the back porch—which was by far the -most frequented part of the house—was not curtained at all. It was a -queer place, but Scott had been in worse, and he decided that it would -have to do.</p> -<p>He had been so interested in finding a place to stay that he had -forgotten all about the man from the Washington office who was to meet -him here. He went out to inquire for him. The dining room opened on to -the porch next to his room and the kitchen was next to that.</p> -<p>The man was nowhere to be seen, but there were three women in the -kitchen and they were feverishly discussing Scott’s probable business. -Complete silence fell on them all when he appeared in the doorway.</p> -<p>“Pardon me,” he said. “Do you know whether Mr. Reynolds of the Forest -Service has been here?”</p> -<p>The women looked at each other as though an important problem had been -solved before any one answered.</p> -<p>Then one of the women answered with a question: “Are you Mr. Burton?”</p> -<p>“Yes,” Scott said.</p> -<p>“Mr. Reynolds left here this morning. He said that if Mr. Burton, the -new supervisor, came to tell him he would be back to-night or to-morrow -morning. I was looking for a much older man,” she added looking at him -curiously.</p> -<p>“Well,” Scott laughed, “time will correct that.”</p> -<p>Scott noticed that these women were all sizing him up just as the -station agent had done a little while before. He went back to his room, -and looked in the glass to see what could be wrong. He could see nothing -to attract attention. He tried to forget the occurrence and went out to -see the town and surrounding country.</p> -<p>He wandered down the street, if the road between the two stores could be -called a street, and wondered why there should be two stores in such a -place. Judging from the unbroken forests on the mountain slopes he did -not see where enough people could possibly come from to support any -store at all.</p> -<p>On the porch of each store there was a small group of idlers holding -down the dry-goods boxes, and Scott saw that they were sizing him up -just as the women had done. Moreover, the stare of these men seemed to -be distinctly unfriendly. It made him feel uneasy. He was glad when he -had run the gauntlet of unfriendly stares, and was out in the open road -with only the railroad station and the mountains before him. But he had -one more examination to stand. The station agent was watching him from -the corner of the platform. In fact, Scott caught him squatting down to -get a better view of him even before he came out in the open. He -resented this officious spying on his movements and turned aside into a -mountain road which wound its way up a timber-covered slope.</p> -<p>“Heh!” Scott turned to see the man coming towards him at what was an -unusual gait for him. “Didn’t buy anything at the store, did you?”</p> -<p>Scott looked at him indignantly for an instant, but he remembered again -that he had to live with these people, probably for a long time, and did -not want to offend them. “No,” he replied as pleasantly as he could. -“Why?”</p> -<p>“I just wanted to know,” the man replied frankly. “But if you haven’t -done it, don’t.” The man had evidently noticed that Scott had resented -his interference and he walked away with considerable dignity without -making any further explanation.</p> -<p>Scott started to call him back but changed his mind and continued his -walk up the road. He wanted to get away from these inquisitive people -for a while, and try to think things over. Fate, however, seemed to have -decided otherwise. He had gone a little more than a quarter of a mile up -the winding road through the heavy hardwood timber when he came to a -little cabin set back only a few feet from the road behind the -inevitable picket fence. An old man was sitting on the porch, and he -sized Scott up with the same all-consuming curiosity, but his gaze -seemed to be wholly friendly. There was none of that furtive animosity -he had felt rather than seen in the groups down at the store.</p> -<p>“Howdy, stranger?” the old man greeted him pleasantly. “Be you the new -supervisor?”</p> -<p>The old man’s manner was so evidently friendly, and his curiosity so -frank that Scott warmed up to him at once.</p> -<p>“Yes,” he admitted cheerfully, “I’m the new supervisor.”</p> -<p>“Haven’t bought anything at the store yet, have you?” the old man -continued in his friendly way.</p> -<p>There was that same question about the store and Scott stiffened for an -instant, but he thought better of it. Maybe he could learn something -from this old man.</p> -<p>“No,” Scott said, “I have not bought anything from the store. Tell me, -why does everybody ask me that? I have not been in this town much more -than half an hour and two people have already asked me if I have bought -anything at the store. What is the meaning of it?”</p> -<p>The old man looked at him thoughtfully for a minute as though hesitating -to answer the question. Then he answered slowly as though pronouncing -final judgment:</p> -<p>“Because when you do buy anything from one of those stores, you might as -well leave the town for all the good you’ll ever be able to do in this -country,” and he turned as though to enter the house.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chIII'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER III</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>THE OLD MAN’S STORY</span></h2> -<p>The old man’s statement seemed so ridiculous that Scott hesitated to -believe it. He thought that the man must be making fun of him, but he -recalled the station agent’s warning. There must be something in it. The -whole community could not be conspiring just to play a joke on him. -Before the old man reached the door he called him back.</p> -<p>“Just a minute, please. You are the second man to warn me not to buy -anything at that store. Why shouldn’t I? What has buying at the store -got to do with running a national forest? I can’t see the connection.”</p> -<p>The old man looked at him and smiled sarcastically. “Neither could the -other two men who came here before you, and they both had to leave.”</p> -<p>Scott’s curiosity was now thoroughly aroused, and he determined to pump -an explanation out of this man. He smiled winningly. “Then tell me the -secret so that I shall not have to follow them.”</p> -<p>At his change of tone the old man’s sarcasm disappeared immediately. -“Well, if that’s the way you look at it,” he said with all his old -friendliness, “why, maybe I’ll try to tell you. You couldn’t tell those -other fellows anything.”</p> -<p>“I would certainly appreciate it,” Scott said, as he settled himself -down on the fence to listen. “I have come here to run this forest, and -if that store down there has anything to do with it, I want to know -about it.”</p> -<p>“Come in, come in,” the old man repeated hospitably. “It’s a long story, -and you might as well sit down to listen to it.”</p> -<p>Scott gladly stepped inside the fence, and took a seat opposite his host -on the porch. “By the way,” he said, “I thought I saw two stores down -there in the village. Which one do you mean?”</p> -<p>“That’s just the point. If there was only one store there you could buy -all you pleased, but if you buy anything from one of those stores now, -the fellow who owns the other one would sure get you.”</p> -<p>“But can’t a man buy where he pleases in this country?” Scott asked -indignantly. His spirit rebelled at any one dictating to him the way he -should run what he considered to be his own business.</p> -<p>“Not and live in peace,” the old man answered sadly. “I’ll tell you the -story, and then you can do as you please.</p> -<p>“You see the people here in the mountains don’t move around much. When a -man gets used to these mountains he never wants to live anywhere else. -The children don’t marry, and go off somewhere else to live; they just -put up another shanty, and live close to home. The families stick close -together, and form a kind of settlement. Most everybody in the -settlement is kin to somebody else.</p> -<p>“The Morgans live in the settlement up on this side of the valley, and -the Waits over there on the other side. They were good friends and -getting along fine till the railroad come down the valley. They called -old Zeb Morgan and old Foster Wait together to decide where the station -ought to be. They got into a row over it somehow, and before anybody -could interfere Foster had pulled a gun and shot Zeb through the heart. -That was forty years ago. Well, it was a murder all right, and no excuse -for it except Foster’s notorious temper. The sheriff took Foster off to -jail, and that ought to have ended it. Would have ended it, too, if it -had not been for Zeb’s half-witted brother Jim. Everybody knew Jim -wasn’t exactly right in his head, but he worshiped Zeb, and when Zeb was -shot he went plumb crazy, disappeared and nobody saw or heard of him for -a week. Next thing anybody knew Jim had turned up in the middle of the -Wait settlement and shot two of Foster’s brothers.</p> -<p>“Well, they should not have held the Morgans responsible for the actions -of a crazy man, but they did, and the fight was on. The dead line was -drawn down the middle of the village street, and every time a Wait -stepped over that dead line, he had to duck Morgan lead, and the Waits -were just as quick on the trigger on the other side. Every once in a -while some one on one side or the other would get drunk and shoot across -the line.</p> -<p>“It got pretty bad. All the kin folks got mixed up in it, and there was -a funeral every two or three months. There has not been much shooting -for the past five years. The Morgans got the worst of the scrap in the -early days, and there’s only old Jarred and his two sons left of the -direct descendants of Zeb. Unless you count his little granddaughter -Vic. She’s the fightenest little wildcat in the whole bunch. Of course -there are lots of relatives, but they had cooled off pretty much till -this national forest business came along to stir them up again.</p> -<p>“But I most forgot the store. You see old Tom Wait had a store in the -village before the trouble began, and it was all that was needed, maybe -a little more, but of course after the trouble no Morgan would deal -there. Been shot if he’d tried it. So Jarred’s boys had to start a store -on the other side. That’s where the two stores come from. Buy anything -from one of them, and you have all the other side of the mountain down -on you. Now maybe you can see why I warned you.”</p> -<p>Scott sat in silence for a moment while the old man watched him -curiously. He was dazed by what seemed to him an impossible situation. -How could such a horrible state of affairs exist in the heart of a -civilized country?</p> -<p>“Isn’t there any way of bringing the two families together and stopping -this senseless fight?” Scott asked earnestly. “Surely they must see how -it is hurting them both. Has any one ever tried to stop it?”</p> -<p>The old man shook his head sadly. “The Morgan boys might quit if they -could find any way to do it. They know it is only a question of time -till they will be killed. Three Morgans can’t hold out forever against a -dozen Waits, and that is what it means because their kin folk are not -going to stick by them much longer.”</p> -<p>“It would not be possible to persuade this man Jarred to give up the -feud?” Scott asked.</p> -<p>The old man smiled sadly. “It’s clear you ain’t seen him, stranger. Old -Jarred would give away anything he’s got except his pride, but it takes -only one look at him to see that he’d never give up to an enemy.”</p> -<p>Scott sat for some minutes pondering this extraordinary situation, and -the old man continued to watch him rather wistfully. Would he try to -make peace between these warring factions, or would he ignore them, and -be run out of the country as the other two had been?</p> -<p>When Scott looked up he smiled at the old man gratefully. “I don’t know -what I can do to stop this thing. It is pitiful to think of that old man -eaten up by his hatred, and holding out in his pride against the world. -Maybe I cannot do anything to stop it, but I certainly do not want to do -anything to stir it up. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you -have told me. To whom am I indebted for this information and advice?”</p> -<p>“My name is Sanders. ‘Old man’ Sanders they call me.”</p> -<p>“And I take it that you are not mixed up in this feud on either side. -Who else is not in it?”</p> -<p>“The station agent. He has to be neutral.”</p> -<p>“And how did you happen to keep out of it?” Scott asked.</p> -<p>“Because I am a Quaker,” the old man answered proudly, “and do not -believe in fighting. And now,” he added with the same sad smile Scott -had noticed several times before, “one of my daughters has married a -Wait and the other a Morgan.”</p> -<p>Scott rose to go. “Well, Mr. Sanders,” he said earnestly, “I have almost -as good a reason as you have for keeping neutral. I am certainly obliged -to you for your advice, and I may need your help again. In the meanwhile -I shall keep away from those stores, and try not to stir anything up.”</p> -<p>Scott walked slowly on up the mountain road with bent head, and when the -old man had watched him out of sight he continued to gaze dreamily at -the turn of the road where the young man had disappeared.</p> -<p>“He’s not a fool like the others, anyway,” he said aloud, “and I think -he’ll stay here.”</p> -<p>Scott wandered on. He wanted to find a place where he could be alone and -think.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chIV'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER IV</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>OLD JARRED</span></h2> -<p>Two miles farther up that same road a little log cabin stood back from -the road about fifty feet behind its weather-beaten picket fence. The -little yard, like most of the yards in that section of the country, was -perfectly bare, and at first glance it seemed to be deserted. But if a -member of the Wait settlement had tried to enter the yard, he would -instantly have been aware of a very real presence.</p> -<p>Seated on the doorstep of the cabin, and so motionless that he might -have been a part of it, was a man clad in a black sateen shirt and -homespun trousers tucked into heavy Congress boots. Judging from the -silvery whiteness of his hair he might have been eighty-five, but from -the strong, stern lines of his thin, smooth-shaven face he might have -been forty-five. There was no sign of nervousness. Not a finger moved -and his eyes rested unwaveringly on a small clearing half a mile down -the mountain where he could catch a glimpse of the road to the village.</p> -<p>A white flag waved for an instant in the clearing and the lines of his -face relaxed. The sternness had given way to an expression of -anticipation. The man’s eyes shifted from the clearing to the bend in -the road just below the cabin. Other than that there was no movement. It -would have taken a careful student to have discovered that an -all-consuming curiosity was gnawing at this man’s heart. He seemed to be -without a care in the world. Certainly no one could have guessed that he -was suffering from a suspense which was almost unbearable.</p> -<p>Suddenly a slip of a girl, not more than thirteen years old, and small -for her age, came running around the bend in the road. The brown of her -sunburned legs twinkled in the patches of sunlight that came through the -trees, and her blue-checked calico dress fluttered in the wind as she -ran with unfaltering stride. It was not an impatient burst of speed at -the end of a journey. She had been running steadily all the way from the -village, almost two and a half miles away and nearly a thousand feet -below.</p> -<p>At the sight of her the man arose and stretched his gaunt form to its -full height. The coming of the child meant much to him, but he showed no -sign of curiosity. She stopped before him with chest heaving and dark -eyes aflame.</p> -<p>“He went to Wait’s,” she panted.</p> -<p>The lines in the old man’s face tightened, and he seemed to grow taller, -but he made no answer.</p> -<p>“That was the man who came yesterday,” she continued furiously. “He -bought a sack of tobacco at Wait’s this morning, and went up on the -other mountain. The other one who came this morning didn’t go in -nowhere. He ain’t much more than a boy.”</p> -<p>“Where is he?” the man asked sternly. “At the hotel?”</p> -<p>“No, he went there, but he only stayed a few minutes. Then he walked -right through the village and started up this way. I passed him just out -on the road.”</p> -<p>“Did he see you?”</p> -<p>“No,” she answered contemptuously. “I was in the brush, but he would not -have seen me if I had run right by him. He was looking at the ground and -frowning.”</p> -<p>The man turned the news slowly over in his mind before he answered.</p> -<p>“So the new supervisor is a young lad, is he?”</p> -<p>She nodded.</p> -<p>“And he did not go in anywhere,” the man continued meditatively. “What -sort of looking man is he?”</p> -<p>“He’s two inches shorter than you are, grandpa, but he is heavy and -strong,” she said confidently, with the air of one who is accustomed to -gauge the physical builds of men. “He’s wearing one of them uniforms, -and he’s dark and good looking.”</p> -<p>He gave the girl a quick, searching glance. “Well, don’t make friends -with him yet, Vic. He has not gone into Wait’s, but he has not been in -our store either. Let’s wait till we see what he is going to do.”</p> -<p>“Me make friends with one of those government men,” she burst out -contemptuously. “They all of them side with the Waits. I’d spit in his -face if he spoke to me.”</p> -<p>Her grandfather smiled approvingly. “Oh, I would not do that, Vic, not -till he gives you some reason to. This one may turn out to be all -right.”</p> -<p>“Then let him keep away from the Waits, if I have to be polite to him,” -she snapped.</p> -<p>The old man took the girl tenderly by the shoulders, and looked at her -earnestly. “You’re the best Morgan in the bunch, Vic, and we’ll have to -stick together. The boys may stick by me, but they would give the whole -thing up if they saw a good way out. You and old Jarred are the only -ones left to uphold the honor of the family.”</p> -<p>The child shook the mass of black hair back from her face, and looked -squarely into the old man’s eyes. The concentrated hatred and fury of -three generations gave her the appearance of a witch. “Don’t you worry, -grandpa. Let daddy and uncle Bob give up if they want to, but no Wait -will ever cross the line while I am here to help you.”</p> -<p>Her grandfather patted her head proudly. “That’s the girl. I knew I -could count on you, Vic. Now go in the house, and get some lunch. Then -we’ll go down to the village again. I want to get a look at that -handsome young man myself.”</p> -<p>Vic glared at him angrily. “I had to say that to tell you what he looked -like. Let him go into the Wait’s store, and I’ll show you what I think -of his looks.” She tossed her head defiantly and stalked into the house -with great dignity.</p> -<p>The old man watched her go with a twinkle of pride in his eye and smiled -affectionately. Then he turned away and looked sadly down into the -valley. These were indeed sad times when the honor of the Morgans rested -on a girl of thirteen, and an old man past sixty, but his gaunt frame -straightened unconsciously at the thought, and his chin set all the -harder. If the Waits thought that they could walk over him because he -was old they were surely reckoning without their host.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chV'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER V</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>HOPWOOD</span></h2> -<p>While the old man and the child were pledging their everlasting hatred -to the Waits, Scott Burton, with puzzled frown, was slowly climbing the -mountain road to their cabin. He did not know the location of old Jarred -Morgan’s cabin, and probably would have avoided it if he had, for he -wanted to think this feud business over before he talked to any of them. -Ignorant of how close he was to them, he turned into the woods less than -a quarter of a mile below them and sat down with his back against the -trunk of a great, wide-spreading beech tree. He was out of sight of the -road, and he had purposely chosen the spot in the deep woods to be free -from interruption.</p> -<p>So this was the simple little job which the Service had given him to -complete before he went back to his old home in the southwest? Why did -they always pick him out to unravel some mess? He had never had a job -where he could really show what he could do. Always there had been some -complication, something outside of the regular line of duty that had -taken his whole time and attention. Never had he found himself in a -position where he could devote himself to his technical work and show -what he knew. Even when he had logged his own land he had found his -operations hindered by the bully of the country who had tried to ruin -him. His first impulse now was to write to the Service that he did not -care to mix up in this mess at all. If they wanted him to go back to his -old post, all right; otherwise, he would resign. He had made enough to -live on out of his own logging operations, and he could make more the -same way. He did not have to worry over these miserable feuds. Two men -had already lost their reputations on this job and been run out of the -country and....</p> -<p>Right there Scott lost all interest in that line of thought. Was he -going to let them run him out of the country? His jaw set at the mere -thought of it, and he knew that he would never leave till he had been -completely beaten or was carried out in a wooden box. He dropped all -idea of giving up the job and settled down to look it squarely in the -face.</p> -<p>Just what was this problem anyway? The government owned a big tract of -land here, and there was timber on it that was ready to be cut, and it -was up to him as supervisor to sell it. It was located on both sides of -the valley, part in Wait territory and part in Morgan. Two other men had -already tried it, and had failed utterly before they had ever started -because they had become involved in this everlasting feud between the -Waits and the Morgans.</p> -<p>When he really thought about it, it did not seem to be such an -impossible task. Why should he mix up in this feud at all? It looked as -though old Foster Wait was to blame for starting it years ago, but it -did not matter now who was originally to blame, they were both equally -to blame for keeping it up all these years. He would put it up to them -squarely that they had to forget the feud, and come together or he would -have nothing to do with either of them. Just what could they have to do -with it in any event? He did not think, from what he had seen of the -country people there, that either family could scrape together enough -money to buy the timber on a single acre. He did not see how they could -influence the sale one way or the other, and he was not going to let -them do it if they could.</p> -<p>When Scott had come to that somewhat Irish decision he felt better. It -seemed almost as if the problem had been solved and he began to look -about him. His eyes had been fixed absently on the ground all the time -and his first upward glance revealed a sight that sent a cold shiver up -his back.</p> -<p>A man was sitting on a log not six feet from him, and was staring at him -with bright blue eyes. It was startling enough to find any one sitting -so close to him when he had thought himself entirely alone, but it was -really alarming when the man had a gun in his hand and a large piece of -sheet iron on top of his head. At first Scott thought that he must be -dreaming, and he blinked his eyes two or three times to try to dispel -the illusion, but it would not dispel.</p> -<p>This was really a man. He looked much as other men save for a queer, -dreamy look in his eyes, and he was dressed like other men except for -his strange head gear. Instead of a hat he was wearing a strange -contraption of wood and iron. On the bottom of a sheet of heavy iron -about eighteen inches long and a foot wide he had nailed four pieces of -wood in the form of a square. This he was wearing on his head like a -senior’s mortar board.</p> -<p>All during Scott’s astonished examination, the newcomer sat staring at -him without the slightest expression on his weather-beaten face. He was -so still that he might have been a statue and his unwavering pose added -to Scott’s feeling of his unreality. He finally, after several minutes -of astonished silence, recovered sufficiently from the spell to exclaim -“Hello.” He said it in a rather startled tone. It did not sound in the -least like a friendly greeting, but it seemed to be altogether -satisfactory to his visitor. The man’s face relaxed, and a friendly -smile lighted it up. Scott was in hopes that he would remove the iron -hat, but he did not.</p> -<p>“So you are the new supervisor,” the stranger remarked in a low, -pleasing voice.</p> -<p>“Yes,” Scott replied a little stiffly, for he had not entirely recovered -from his astonishment, and could not keep his eyes off the iron hat, -“I’m the new supervisor. And who may you be?”</p> -<p>“I might be almost anybody,” the man smiled, “but I happen to be -Hopwood.”</p> -<p>“Well, I’m sure I don’t know where you came from, Mr. Hopwood. You just -seemed to appear on that log as if by magic, but I am glad to know you, -all the same.”</p> -<p>“Not Mr. Hopwood,” the man said solemnly, “just Hopwood. Hopwood Wait.”</p> -<p>Scott looked at him with a new interest. So this was one of the Waits, -the first one he had seen, and he wondered if the iron hat were a part -of the family armor. It might have protected him from an airplane -attack, but would have been of little use for anything else. He had -understood that the Waits did not come over on this side of the valley. -Could this man be scouting in enemy territory or had he come in hope of -getting a pot shot at a Morgan? He decided to risk a question.</p> -<p>“Aren’t you in dangerous territory here?”</p> -<p>Hopwood shook his head slowly. “No, they all think I am crazy, but I -have more sense than anybody else in the family. I can eat lunch with -Jarred Morgan and supper with Foster Wait, and that’s more than anybody -else can do,” he replied proudly.</p> -<p>“Then you don’t believe in this family feud?” Scott inquired eagerly.</p> -<p>Again Hopwood shook his head. “Why should I? They will all be killed if -they keep it up. The cemetery is full of them now.”</p> -<p>“Do you think that they would give it up if they had a good chance?”</p> -<p>Hopwood nodded.</p> -<p>“What makes you think so?” This man might be able to give him some -useful information even if he was crazy.</p> -<p>“Because they are scared,” Hopwood answered promptly. “Every one of them -is scared except old Jarred and Vic. They don’t pay any attention to me -and I hear them talk.”</p> -<p>“Then why don’t they give it up?”</p> -<p>“Because they are more scared to quit than they are to go on. If they -should quit, old Jarred would kill them all, both Morgans and Waits.”</p> -<p>Scott thought for a moment. Old Jarred Morgan seemed to be the key to -the situation if this man knew what he was talking about.</p> -<p>“Where could I find you if I should need you some time?” Scott asked. He -thought he could see how this man might be very useful to him.</p> -<p>“Almost anywhere,” was Hopwood’s unsatisfactory answer.</p> -<p>Scott looked thoughtfully off through the woods a moment wondering what -other useful information he could get out of this man, and when he -looked back the man was gone.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chVI'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER VI</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>SCOTT TALKS WITH THE AGENT</span></h2> -<p>The disappearance of Hopwood had been so silent and so unexpected that -Scott hardly knew whether it had not been a dream after all. He sat -still for a moment to see whether he would come back, but, when he did -not, he arose leisurely, and began to glance cautiously about him. He -did not want to search because he thought that Hopwood must be behind a -tree somewhere waiting to have the laugh on him. After all what -difference did it make what had become of Hopwood? Scott felt that he -had learned all that he could get out of him just now, and he had made -up his mind what he wanted to do.</p> -<p>He glanced at his watch. It was a quarter of twelve, and he would be -late for his dinner if he did not hurry. He was curious to know how -Hopwood had disappeared so suddenly and where he had gone, but he struck -out for the road without looking to the right or the left. Just as he -reached it he saw the man of the iron hat stroll leisurely around a bend -a little way up the mountain, apparently unconscious that he had acted -peculiarly, and without a backward glance. The sight of him reminded -Scott that he had not found out why this man wore his strange iron hat, -and he made up his mind to ask some one the first chance he had.</p> -<p>When Scott reached the hotel after again running the gauntlet of stares -in the village there were no signs of a meal in the very near future. -The women were talking in the kitchen, but there was no sign of any -hurry in spite of the fact that it was already fifteen minutes after the -time they had announced for dinner. He went to his room and found it -just as he had left it. Either he was expected to make his own bed or -the women did not make them till afternoon. He decided to wait and see -what would happen.</p> -<p>When the dinner bell finally rang, it was a quarter past one. Scott -found himself alone with the station agent. The meal was about the worst -he had ever seen. Great cubes of salt pork fat three inches square, -boiled and transparent, that might have made an Eskimo’s mouth water, -but were impossible for the uninitiated. Corn bread as dry as powder, a -sickly looking gravy, and some gluey rice. At first Scott thought that -he could not eat any of it, but what was he going to do? This was -probably what he would have to eat for several weeks. There was no place -to look for anything better. With a desperate look around the table to -make sure that he had not overlooked any possibilities, he resolutely -helped himself to the rice and the corn bread and waded in. He could -swallow these things if he had to, but he could not bring himself even -to try the salt pork.</p> -<p>He had been so disgusted with the meal that he had forgotten all about -the station agent. Now he recalled that the gentleman had been rather -offended at his actions in the morning, and that he had better try to -make his peace with him now.</p> -<p>“Mr. Roberts, you probably thought me very ungrateful this morning, but -I knew absolutely nothing of this feud here, and could not imagine what -you meant.”</p> -<p>The agent answered rather stiffly. “None of the government men who have -been here seem to want to know anything about it, but they all learn -something about it sooner or later.”</p> -<p>“Well, I want to know all I can about it. Up the road this morning I met -Mr. Sanders, and when he asked me that same question about buying at the -stores I asked him to explain. He told me all he could about it, and -then I realized what you meant. I really appreciate your kindness very -much, and want to thank you for trying to warn me. I don’t believe there -are many people around here who would have done it.”</p> -<p>The agent was evidently pleased with the apology and melted immediately. -“No, I reckon there ain’t,” he said rather proudly. “Old man Sanders and -I are about the only ones. The others are all in it up to their necks.”</p> -<p>“Now that I know about it, I am not going to get mixed up with either -side. They will have to give up their feud and work together like other -people if they want to get in the game.”</p> -<p>“They will never do that as long as old Jarred lives,” the agent -answered confidently.</p> -<p>That familiar phrase reminded Scott of the strange man with the iron -hat. “By the way,” he asked, “who is this man Hopwood?”</p> -<p>“He’s Foster Wait’s nephew. Foster’s father is the man who started the -feud, you know. He had an awful bad temper, and they tell me that, when -Hopwood was a little kid, old Foster hit him in the head with his cane -and he’s been crazy as a loon ever since. Did you meet him at Sanders’ -place?”</p> -<p>“No,” Scott replied, “I met him up in the woods.”</p> -<p>“Thought you might have met him at Sanders’,” the agent said. “His -mother was old Sanders’ daughter. What did you think of his hat?”</p> -<p>“I was just going to ask you why he wears that thing,” Scott said with -renewed curiosity.</p> -<p>“He thinks it will keep the devil away.” The agent was delighted with -the opportunity to tell some one of the strange gossip of the country -that he had collected in his ten years of residence. “You see when he -grew up he saw that he was not like other people, and they had to give -him some reason for it, so they told him there was a devil in him. He -went right out and built that iron hat and has worn it ever since. Says -he’s going to wear it till they give up the feud.”</p> -<p>“Doesn’t wear it at night, does he?” Scott asked. It was ridiculous, but -it was so pathetic that he hated to laugh at it.</p> -<p>“No,” the agent answered seriously, “he doesn’t wear it at night, but he -sleeps on his back with that thing on his chest.”</p> -<p>“He looked queer,” Scott said, “but he seemed to talk reasonably enough. -He said just as you do that they will never drop the feud as long as old -Jarred Morgan lives, but he says the others are all scared and would -drop it if they could.”</p> -<p>“Sometimes I think he isn’t as crazy as they make out. They talk about -him and in front of him as though he couldn’t understand anything, but -he can tell you every word that they have said for the past five years.”</p> -<p>Scott thought for a minute. “Do you think it would be safe for me to -make use of him or would that be considered as taking part with the -Waits?”</p> -<p>“No, that would not tie you up with the Waits. Everybody talks to him, -even old Jarred Morgan. They do not seem to consider him as belonging to -the family, somehow. But you don’t want to be too sure about using him. -If he happened to take a liking to you he will do anything for you, but -if he did not like you this morning you’ll probably never see him -again.”</p> -<p>“I don’t know whether he liked me or not,” Scott said thoughtfully. “He -appeared on a log in front of me so suddenly that I did not see where he -came from, and he got away again in the same way.”</p> -<p>“Oh, he moves like a shadow in the woods,” the agent exclaimed -enthusiastically. “He has any Indian I have ever seen beaten three ways -for woodcraft. He moves about so fast and so silently that a lot of -folks around here think he is a spirit.” It was easy to see from the -agent’s manner that he was not altogether clear on that point himself.</p> -<p>“Well,” Scott said, “I hope he likes me because it looks as though I -won’t have very many friends around here.”</p> -<p>“You sure will not,” the agent remarked with decision. “You can make -friends with half the people easy enough, but sure as you do the other -half will hate you. If you don’t take up with either side, as you are -planning on doing, likely as not they will all hate you.”</p> -<p>Scott sat for a moment dreamy eyed, considering this disagreeable -dilemma. When he looked up Hopwood was standing in the doorway, calmly -looking at him over the agent’s head. For a moment Scott was too -astonished to speak. He wondered if Hopwood had been outside listening, -and he thought of what the agent had said about this strange man being a -spirit.</p> -<p>“Hello, Hopwood!” he exclaimed, and the agent almost jumped out of his -chair.</p> -<p>Hopwood smiled an answer. “Is that red-headed man who came on the train -yesterday your boss?” he asked, as though they had been talking for some -time.</p> -<p>“Yes,” Scott admitted, “he is, in a way.”</p> -<p>“Well, <i>he’s</i> joined the Waits,” Hopwood remarked.</p> -<p>The announcement almost stunned Scott. He stared wildly at Hopwood for -an instant and then at the agent. “What makes you think so?” he asked -dully.</p> -<p>There was no answer, and he found Hopwood had disappeared as suddenly as -he had come.</p> -<p>The agent tiptoed to the door and looked cautiously up and down the -porch. Hopwood was nowhere to be seen. He looked back at Scott and shook -his head. “Gone completely. Well, whether he is man or devil, I reckon -he is a friend of yours all right.”</p> -<p>“I guess he is,” Scott replied with a sickly smile, “but it does not -look as though my boss thought much of me.”</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chVII'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER VII</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>SCOTT RECEIVES “AID” FROM HIS BOSS</span></h2> -<p>Mr. Roberts went back to his office soon after Hopwood’s visit, and was -evidently glad of the opportunity to get away. He had spoken derisively -of those who thought that Hopwood was a spirit, but he had looked behind -him nervously till he was well away from the house.</p> -<p>Scott scarcely noticed that he had gone. He sat with his chin dropped -dejectedly on his chest, and stared across the table with unseeing eyes. -If what Hopwood had said was true, his troubles there would be greatly -increased even if his plans were not completely ruined. It seemed as -though some evil genius had brought him to this place, and if he had he -certainly must be laughing at the pickle his victim was in.</p> -<p>Scott was so disappointed that he felt almost ready to cry. With -considerable difficulty, and the help of old man Sanders and the station -agent, he had succeeded in posting himself fairly well on the ins and -outs of this feud. After carefully considering the possibility of an -alliance with one side or the other he had come to the conclusion that -the only safe thing to do was to remain absolutely neutral. He felt -confident that if he could keep away from any entangling alliance with -either side, he could successfully carry on his work in spite of the -feud and might even be able to get these old enemies to patch up their -differences. He had still considered that a possibility even though -every one said that the feud would never be dropped as long as old -Jarred Morgan lived.</p> -<p>And now his superior officer had taken sides with the Waits and spoiled -everything.</p> -<p>Scott determined to find Hopwood, learn where Mr. Reynolds was, and know -the worst as soon as possible. One of them was right and the other -wrong. They must at least get together and agree on a common policy.</p> -<p>So Scott started out in search of Hopwood. He felt sure that he could -tell him where to find Mr. Reynolds. The iron hat was nowhere in sight, -but Scott felt that he could not be very far away. Surely he would not -have come to make such a statement as that and then disappear without -waiting to give any explanation of it. Possibly he had gone to one of -the stores.</p> -<p>He had started down the village street to investigate when he noticed a -motionless figure sitting back of a pile of cordwood a little way back -from the street. He instantly recognized Hopwood. Was he hiding from him -and would he run away? Scott approached him rather cautiously, but -Hopwood watched him calmly and showed no sign of retreating. He rather -appeared to be waiting for him.</p> -<p>“Thanks for the warning you gave me,” Scott said as soon as he was near -enough to him.</p> -<p>“I thought that you would be looking for me,” Hopwood replied with his -usual disregard of preliminaries.</p> -<p>“What made you think that I would find you in this out-of-the-way -place?” Scott laughed. “Why didn’t you stay at the hotel? I would have -been glad to have had a visit from you.”</p> -<p>“The more people see me with you the less I’ll hear,” Hopwood answered -cunningly.</p> -<p>Scott started at the flash of wisdom from a half-wit. “I guess you are -right,” he replied earnestly. “Do you think we are safe here?”</p> -<p>“Oh, yes,” Hopwood replied confidently. “No one can see us here except -from that one place, and no one else will go along that street for half -an hour.”</p> -<p>Scott did not waste any time trying to find out how Hopwood knew that. -There was something else that he was anxious to know. “Then maybe you -can tell me, Hopwood, what makes you think Mr. Reynolds has joined the -Waits?”</p> -<p>“He’s been up at the Waits’ nearly all day, and has just about promised -them that you will give them the logging contract.”</p> -<p>“How do you know he did?” Scott asked incredulously. “You were with me -part of the morning, and went up the other mountain when you left me,” -he protested.</p> -<p>Hopwood only smiled.</p> -<p>“Where is he now?” Scott continued. He could not believe that Hopwood -knew what he was talking about. Maybe he was mistaken. He hoped so.</p> -<p>“He is on his way down the mountain with Foster Wait,” Hopwood replied -promptly. “He’ll be down here at the store in less than half an hour,” -he added, as though he had noticed the doubt in Scott’s face.</p> -<p>“Then I guess I’ll wait here till he comes,” Scott said. “I don’t want -to be seen now traipsing around the country with Foster Wait.</p> -<p>“He’ll have some job to make me give a logging contract to either of -those gangs,” Scott muttered defiantly. Then, after a minute’s silence, -“Do you think that either the Morgans or the Waits could carry out a -logging contract if they did get it, Hopwood? Have they the money to do -it?”</p> -<p>But there was no answer. Hopwood had disappeared again in his usual -silent and mysterious fashion. Scott knew better now than to waste his -time looking for him. He fell to brooding over this phase of the -problem, and when he looked at his watch it was already ten minutes -after the time which Hopwood had predicted for Mr. Reynolds’ arrival. -Scott jumped to his feet and hurried out into the open. He was delighted -to see Mr. Reynolds coming up the street alone and walked down to meet -him.</p> -<p>Mr. Reynolds was a rather effeminate-looking man, over neatly dressed in -the very latest cut of riding suit. He affected a rather bored manner. -He waved an indolent greeting to Scott.</p> -<p>“Hello, there, Burton! I sure am glad to see you. I thought I was going -to have to eat another meal in this beastly hole. Now I can probably -finish up with you in time to catch the afternoon train.”</p> -<p>Scott wished that he had caught the train the day before but he did not -dare to say so. Instead he said, “Think how long I shall have to eat -here. Better stay awhile. Misery loves company, you know.”</p> -<p>“Well, I hope you get all the company you want, but it sure will not be -mine if I can help it.”</p> -<p>“By the way,” Scott asked suddenly, “where did you get that cigarette?”</p> -<p>“Pardon me,” Mr. Reynolds exclaimed, as he fumbled apologetically in his -pocket for the package, “but I was under the impression that you never -smoked.”</p> -<p>“I don’t,” Scott replied. “I was only wondering where you bought them.”</p> -<p>“Oh, here at the store. They carry them, but they are a pretty bum -brand.”</p> -<p>“Which store?” Scott insisted.</p> -<p>“The one on the left there. Hadn’t noticed there were two. What’s the -big idea? You rooting for one of them?”</p> -<p>Scott knew that it would be useless to argue with this man. He evidently -had no conception of the situation in the village and Scott did not -think it worth while to try to explain. “No,” he replied, “I was just -wondering which one I ought to deal with,” which was true enough.</p> -<p>“Well, if everything they sell is as rotten as their cigarettes you’d -better try the other one. But come on up to the hotel so that I can go -over things with you in time to catch that train. I think that I have -things lined up here for you in pretty good shape.”</p> -<p>“How is that?” Scott asked. In spite of the harm this man had done him -he could not help smiling at his unbounded conceit.</p> -<p>“Oh, I had a long talk with Foster Wait this afternoon, and fixed it up -with him so that the Waits will take over the logging contract. There is -a big family of them and the labor problem will be settled. No use in -scouring the country the way those other fellows did when it can be -handled so easily locally.”</p> -<p>“Didn’t sign them up, did you?” Scott asked the question as carelessly -as he could, but he really waited breathlessly for the answer.</p> -<p>“No,” Mr. Reynolds answered pompously, “I could not very well go into -all those details because I did not have the necessary forms with me. I -only smoothed the way for you a little. Now that I have talked to them -it will be no trick at all for you to get them to sign up and arrange -all the details.”</p> -<p>“And,” Scott thought, “the details would have to include the hiring of -an undertaker to sweep up the remains.” But to Mr. Reynolds he said -nothing. The more he let this man talk the more certain he would be of -getting rid of him on the afternoon train, and that was Scott’s one -ambition now—to get rid of this man at the earliest possible moment.</p> -<p>They walked on up to the hotel and when they came out two hours later -Scott was more than ever anxious to see him go. If this man had had -anything to do with the business when the two previous supervisors had -been run out of the country he could understand perfectly well how it -happened. Scott had listened attentively and talked hardly at all.</p> -<p>As they approached the stores Scott saw a good-sized delegation -assembled on the porch of each. The Waits looked smilingly elated. The -Morgans glared angrily from across the way.</p> -<p>“Come on up and I’ll introduce you to these people now if I have the -time.”</p> -<p>Scott was determined to avoid this but he did now know how to do it. If -he refused, Mr. Reynolds would undoubtedly start an argument which the -spectators could not help but understand. Fortunately the train was on -time, something which rarely happened, and it whistled just in the nick -of time.</p> -<p>As the train pulled out of the station, Scott watched it with a feeling -of profound relief, but at the same time he half wished that he was on -it. He was rid of Mr. Reynolds, but would he ever be able to get out of -the mess into which this man had drawn him?</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chVIII'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER VIII</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>SCOTT LOSES HIS NEUTRALITY</span></h2> -<p>When the train had disappeared Scott turned to find the station agent -close behind him waiting for an opportunity to speak.</p> -<p>“I reckon Hopwood was right,” he said with his slow drawl.</p> -<p>“What makes you think so?” Scott asked, for he knew that Mr. Reynolds -had not told him.</p> -<p>“Three of the Waits have already told me that they are going to get the -logging contract,” he replied.</p> -<p>“Oh, they did, did they?” he exclaimed indignantly. Either Mr. Reynolds -must have talked to a gathering of the whole clan or the news had spread -like wild fire over the face of the mountain. “Well, they haven’t got it -yet,” he snapped. “I guess I’ll have something to say about who gets -that logging contract.”</p> -<p>“I asked them if you had told them and they said no, but your boss had, -and you would have to do as he said.”</p> -<p>Scott’s teeth came together with a vicious snap. “They’ll see whether I -have to or not.” He turned abruptly and walked across the tracks toward -the Wait country. “No pair of whipcord riding breeches is going to tell -me where to let a logging contract,” he muttered angrily to himself.</p> -<p>He did not know exactly why he had come in that direction. Possibly it -was his natural tendency to go straight for his enemy. He did not even -realize where he was going; he only realized that he was mad clear -through and that he had better walk some of it off before he talked to -anybody.</p> -<p>The forest came close down to the edge of the valley on this side and -the road was arched over with the beautiful hardwood trees. Scott would -have marveled at their size and beauty if he had not been too angry to -notice them. The quiet solitude of the steep mountain road was well -fitted to smooth a man’s ruffled temper and make him forget his -troubles. Everywhere the gray squirrels were chasing each other around -the trees in a never ending game of tag, and the birds were singing all -over the woods.</p> -<p>Before Scott had gone very far he met two men riding down the mountain -on horseback. They wore the regular uniform of that section, rough -homespun trousers and a black sateen shirt, and carried long -muzzle-loading rifles balanced across their saddle bows. They both -grinned condescendingly at Scott and gave him a careless, “Howdy.”</p> -<p>He did not think it strange that he should meet two men, but when he met -two more a little farther up and they greeted him in the same way he -began to comprehend. These were the triumphant Waits on their way to -town to celebrate their victory, and they were all laughing at him, -laughing because they had overreached him and made terms with the boss -that he would have to accept.</p> -<p>The thought maddened him, and by the time he had passed eight more he -was so angry that he could hardly see the big fellow who brought up the -rear of the last group of four. It would never do to start a row with -them now before he was really ready, and yet it was all he could do to -hide his fury and return their greetings casually.</p> -<p>The big fellow who had just passed turned in his saddle and looked at -him inquiringly. “Weren’t looking for me, were you, sonny?” he called -insolently in a rather thick voice.</p> -<p>Scott’s blood boiled at the tone and wording of the question. He did not -dare look at the man and it almost choked him to answer calmly, “Not -to-day.”</p> -<p>“Well, to-morrow will do,” the man called insolently. “You can find me -home most any day.” And the others laughed at the retort.</p> -<p>Scott saw red for a minute and half turned, but he caught himself in -time. He would not make much headway in handling this timber sale if he -began with a fight in the public road on a somewhat doubtful pretext. If -he did fight he ought to have a little better cause than that.</p> -<p>He did not meet any more of the offensive Waits and was beginning to -cool off a little so that he could think calmly. Suddenly he stopped -with a jerk and turned his startled gaze down the road in the direction -all the bands had been traveling. What would be the outcome of this -meeting in the village? He had met twelve men on the road and he had -noticed eight more at the store when he came by. They were all armed and -most likely there would be much drinking. Would they take this -opportunity to wipe out the remnant of the Morgans?</p> -<p>He had never seen old Jarred Morgan nor had he ever spoken to any of the -family, but right now his sympathy was with them. The picture which old -man Sanders had drawn of that lonely old man and a slip of a girl -holding the Morgan fort almost alone appealed to him. But what could -they do against a gang of twenty? No matter how brave they were, they -would be helpless.</p> -<p>Scott’s sense of fair play sent his fighting blood bounding through his -veins. He turned resolutely and hurried down the mountain. He thought -that he might be able to prevent that crime. He would help to protect -that plucky pair if he possibly could, and he would not care what -anybody thought about it. He did not admit it to himself, but probably -the greatest incentive was the opportunity to fight these insolent -Waits. He hurried on without a thought of the possible effects it might -have on his plans. Every minute he half expected to hear the shot which -would announce the beginning of the fight.</p> -<p>When he came out of the forest at the foot of the mountain, he was -relieved to see that everything looked peaceful in the village. The -station agent saw him coming and lounged out to the end of the platform -to meet him.</p> -<p>“Well, they are all in town to celebrate,” he drawled.</p> -<p>“I guess they are, judging from the procession I met coming down the -mountain,” Scott growled bitterly. “Do you think there will be any -trouble?”</p> -<p>The agent looked at him curiously. “Oh, I don’t believe they will bother -you any now. They think that you are their friend.”</p> -<p>Scott glared at the man indignantly. “I am not talking about myself. Do -you suppose I care what that gang thinks of me? But it occurred to me -that they might take this opportunity to catch the Morgans unprepared -and clean up what is left of them.”</p> -<p>“Oh, you mean that kind of trouble?” and the agent seemed greatly -relieved to find it out. “There won’t be any fight unless old Jarred -comes to town.”</p> -<p>“There will not be any at all if I can prevent it,” Scott replied -resolutely. “If there is any fight it will be a fair one and not a -murder of one old man by a gang like that. I wish I could find Hopwood. -You have not seen him, have you?”</p> -<p>The agent looked cautiously behind him and shook his head. “No, I -haven’t seen him since noon, but that is no reason why he may not be -sitting right here somewhere staring at us.”</p> -<p>Scott turned away. “Well, maybe I’ll run on to him. He seems to turn up -somehow when he is wanted.”</p> -<p>He dreaded passing that crowd at the store and yet he would not have -gone home any other way this afternoon for a hundred dollars. There -would almost certainly be some impudent remarks and Scott was almost -afraid to trust himself, but he made up his mind that he would not fight -with them no matter what happened till he had tried to persuade them to -drop the feud.</p> -<p>Purposely he kept out of sight behind some trees till he was not more -than fifty yards from the store. Then bracing himself for the coming -trial he walked casually out of the shadow. His eye took in the -situation at a glance, but he could not understand it.</p> -<p>Two lonely men sat silent and sullen on the porch of the Morgan store. -At least twenty crowded the porch of the store across the street, -laughing and gibing at a burly giant who was dragging a young girl -across the street by the hair. The girl’s head was bent down so that -Scott could not see her face, but he could imagine her expression. She -was not uttering a sound, but she was fighting with the fury of a -wildcat.</p> -<p>Scott’s blood boiled at the sight of a man mistreating a girl in this -way. Moreover, he recognized the man as the big fellow who had spoken to -him so insolently up on the mountain. Even before he realized what he -was doing he had covered the short distance and grabbed the man by the -arm. He had been a boxer all his life and had won the heavyweight -championship at college. He was calm now, as calm as he had ever been -when he stepped into the ring. This man was almost twice his size, but -he did not even notice it.</p> -<p>“Let go of that girl,” Scott commanded, and as he spoke he let go of the -man’s arm. He had grabbed it only to attract the man’s attention. He -knew that he could not hold this man in any such way and he was too good -a fighter to hold on and be jerked off his balance. The steely ring in -his voice was enough to hold any one’s attention now.</p> -<p>The man turned upon him furiously, but he did not let go of the girl. -Evidently he had expected to see a Morgan, for when his eyes fell on -Scott his mouth dropped open for a moment and he stared blankly.</p> -<p>“Did you hear what I said?” Scott insisted with suppressed fury.</p> -<p>A cunning leer came over the man’s sodden face. The spectators at the -two stores listened breathlessly.</p> -<p>“Quick work to get sweet on her so soon. Get out of the way, sonny, and -go get the papers ready for that logging contract.”</p> -<p>Quick as a flash Scott caught the big fellow a tremendous blow on the -jaw with the flat of his hand. If the man had been sober he would have -hit him with his fist, but he did not want to slug him when he was in -that helpless condition, much as he deserved it. Even as it was, the -slap was enough. The big man let go of the girl, stumbled, lost his -balance and sprawled his length on the ground, where he lay groping -helplessly for his gun and muttering curses.</p> -<p>The girl shook her long hair from her face and cast a look of furious -hatred at the fallen foe. Her chest was heaving from the desperate, but -futile, struggle. Turning slowly she swept a contemptuous glance over -the spectators on both porches. “Cowards!” she snapped with all the -concentrated contempt she could muster. She turned and walked slowly -down the street with all the dignity of a queen.</p> -<p>Much to Scott’s astonishment not a man had moved a hand to interfere -with him. He looked them over slowly to see if they were going to mob -him, but nobody moved or spoke. When he had stood there long enough to -avoid any appearance of running away, he cast a curious glance at the -retreating figure of the girl who had so completely ignored her rescuer, -and walked slowly away toward the hotel, trying to figure out what it -could all mean.</p> -<p>As he turned the corner of the hotel he almost laughed aloud. He was -thinking what the Waits must think of his friendship now.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chIX'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER IX</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>SCOTT MAKES ANOTHER RESCUE</span></h2> -<p>When Scott entered the hotel he was still thinking what it could all -mean. Why were the men of both factions quietly looking on while a big -burly drunkard dragged a child around the street by the hair? If the -girl was a Morgan why had the Morgans let such an act go unchallenged? -If she was a Wait why had not the rest of the gang protected her? He -started. Perhaps it was the man’s own child. No matter. No man had a -right to drag his own child around by the hair. Well, when the station -agent came to supper he could probably explain things.</p> -<p>But the station agent did not come to supper and Scott ate the atrocious -food in lonely state still trying to solve this mystery. In any event he -had shown the Waits just how much they could count on his friendship and -that was worth something. It was also some satisfaction to know that -they were probably as much troubled as he was.</p> -<p>Alone in his room he pondered the problem for an hour without coming any -nearer to a solution. Finally the suspense became unbearable. He -determined to go to old man Sanders and see if he could offer any -explanation. It was growing dusk when he went out and objects seemed a -little indistinct in the distance. He glanced toward the place where -Hopwood had been waiting for him in the afternoon, but there was no -trace of him now.</p> -<p>Both stores apparently were deserted. Scott had not seen a soul when he -turned into the road which led up to Sanders’ little cabin. He thought -that he had never known the woods to be so silent. It seemed as though -every living thing must have left the country. But there was a light in -Sanders’ cabin. The full moon peeped at him over the trees behind the -house. He knocked on the door and heard the old man shuffling across the -floor to open it.</p> -<p>“Good evening,” Scott said as the door swung wide. “You see I have come -back to you for advice pretty quick.”</p> -<p>“Come in, come in,” the old man said cordially. “Glad to see you.” He -motioned Scott to one of the old-fashioned chairs. When they were -comfortably seated he spoke again.</p> -<p>“You said you came here for advice. Let me give you a little before I -forget it. It happens to be perfectly safe for any one to knock on my -door at any time of the day or night, but don’t try it anywhere else. -You would probably find yourself looking down the barrel of a gun if the -dogs did not chew you up first. It is the custom in this country to -stand outside the gate and shout.”</p> -<p>“Thanks,” Scott replied gratefully. “I am very anxious to learn the -customs of this country. There seem to be some customs here I do not -understand. That is what brought me up here to-night. What does it mean -when a big bully of a man hauls a girl around the street by the hair -while twenty others look on and do nothing?”</p> -<p>The old man straightened up in his chair. “What’s all this?” he asked -sharply.</p> -<p>Scott explained as fully as he could and the old man listened -breathlessly to every word. When Scott had finished his story the old -fellow sank back in his chair with wrinkled brow.</p> -<p>“So that was how it happened,” he muttered to himself. “The girl has -more sense than I thought she had.” Then he spoke aloud to Scott. “I -heard a little something of this but I did not know that you had -anything to do with it. It’s a wonder to me that you are here to tell -it.”</p> -<p>Scott misunderstood him. “I admit it was a little hasty,” he replied -with dignity, “but I am not ashamed of it.”</p> -<p>The old man laughed aloud. “No, no, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I -am only surprised that Foster has not killed you before this. Be on your -guard, for he will certainly try it.”</p> -<p>“Tell me about it,” Scott said. “What was going on? I could not make -head or tail of it.”</p> -<p>Mr. Sanders thought for a moment. “Must have seemed queer to you. Would -to anybody. You see Foster Wait, he was the big fellow, was drunk as he -usually is when he has any excuse for it at all. He happened to see Vic -Morgan there in the village and could not help poking some fun at her -about the logging contract. They all love to tease her just to see her -spit fire. She flew into a tantrum just as she always does, ran out to -the middle of the street, which is the dividing line between Morgan and -Wait territory, and told him what she thought of him and the whole Wait -tribe. She said herself that she cursed Foster pretty bad.</p> -<p>“You see she felt safe because the Waits never come past the middle of -the street. But, as I said, Foster was drunk and he reached over the -line and grabbed her. Probably just wanted to spank the kid for a joke. -Vic could not see the joke and bit his thumb. Hurt him pretty bad, I -reckon, and made him mad. He has a terrible temper like his father. He -grabbed her by the hair for a safe hold and then you came along.”</p> -<p>“But how could those men there at the Morgan store see a Wait treat a -member of their family in any such way as that?” Scott protested.</p> -<p>“Because Jim don’t believe in keeping up the feud, and it makes him mad -every time Vic stirs things up that way. Probably thought it served her -right.”</p> -<p>“So that child is Vic. And she is the only supporter old Jarred has. Who -is she, anyway?” Scott asked.</p> -<p>“She is the daughter of Jim Morgan there at the store, but she spends -most of her time up on the mountain with her grandfather. She and the -old man are great chums.”</p> -<p>“Just one more question,” Scott said, “or rather two more and then I’ll -let you go to bed. Why didn’t any of the Waits interfere when I knocked -their leader down? I did not know who he was or I might have been -scared.”</p> -<p>“Because they don’t like him. He is a regular bully, and they were -probably glad to see somebody stand up to him. Besides, they are -expecting a good deal from you.”</p> -<p>Scott ignored the last remark. “And my last question. How did you find -out about it so quickly?”</p> -<p>The old man hesitated an instant. “That is the part that puzzled me. Vic -stopped in here and told me about it herself. That would not have -surprised me because she usually tells me everything, but she asked me -not to let her grandfather hear about it if I could help it. That is -what astonished me. Ordinarily she would have gone to her grandfather on -the run and wanted him to kill the whole tribe. He’ll try to do it too -if he ever hears about this and his own tribe, too, for letting it -happen. I think Vic must have realized that. Didn’t know the kid had so -much judgment. She did not say anything about your rescuing her, -either,” he mused.</p> -<p>Scott was thoughtful a minute. “Well, I certainly appreciate your help, -Mr. Sanders. I think I understand it a little better now, but,” he added -slowly, “I don’t think I shall ever understand how a father could sit -still and see a drunken man treat his daughter like that.” And he arose -to take his leave.</p> -<p>“Old Jarred wouldn’t understand it, either,” Mr. Sanders said, as he -rose to show his guest to the door. “I wish you would help me to keep -him from finding it out. The kid does not want him to know, and I like -her.”</p> -<p>“So do I,” Scott replied. “She fought like a wildcat. I admire nerve in -anybody. I admire the old man, too, for holding out alone against that -big gang, and I am going to protect him all I can.”</p> -<p>He was out on the porch now, and the old man was standing in the -doorway. “Good night, and thank you again.”</p> -<p>“Good night, and be careful,” the old man warned him. “Foster Wait is a -dangerous man and he’ll never be satisfied till he gets his revenge for -this insult. He won’t stop at anything and you must be on your guard all -the time.”</p> -<p>“I’ll try to watch him,” Scott replied simply.</p> -<p>“Do that,” the old man called. “I’ve taken a fancy to you and I don’t -want to see you shot for nothing.”</p> -<p>The door closed before Scott could reply and left him alone in the -moonlight. He felt his loneliness then in that unfriendly country and -was grateful to the old man for his help and his friendship. With a sigh -he turned down the mountain road pondering on the strange story he had -heard. He could see how the news of this encounter might mean the -disruption of the whole Morgan faction if it were ever revealed to old -Jarred, and the girl must have seen it too.</p> -<p>He was walking along slowly in this thoughtful mood when he was startled -by the sight of an old white horse standing in a patch of moonlight in -the middle of the road. He wore a bridle but no saddle, and his head was -hanging low as though he were exhausted from hard riding.</p> -<p>Scott’s mind flashed to the old man’s warning against Foster Wait and he -jumped behind a point in the bank beside the road. He was not a coward -but he did not mean to be shot down by a madman without a struggle. He -peeped cautiously through the bushes. At first he could see nothing, but -as his eyes became more accustomed to the uncertain light he thought he -recognized the body of a person lying under the horse’s muzzle. He -watched it carefully for a moment. There was no sign of motion. Surely -any one lying in wait for him would not have chosen such a peculiar form -of strategy. He threw his caution to the winds and stepped out into the -road.</p> -<p>The old horse raised his head and nickered. The raising of the horse’s -head let the moonlight fall on the figure in the road and Scott clearly -recognized it as a woman. He ran forward and there was Vic Morgan lying -unconscious in the road. A small bundle of clothes lay beside her. -Evidently she had fallen from the horse, but Scott could not tell how it -happened. The faithful old horse was standing guard over her unconscious -form; it would hardly have been his fault.</p> -<p>Scott felt her pulse. She wasn’t dead. One leg was twisted under her in -an unnatural position. He straightened it out and the bone did not seem -to be broken. He was uncertain whether to take her back to Sanders’ -cabin or home to her father. It was not much farther to the village and -he decided to take her there. He tied the bundle of clothes on his belt -and led the horse over to the bank where he could get on.</p> -<p>When he started to pick the girl up she groaned and moved uneasily. He -gathered the slight form in his arms and carried her over to the bank. -Just as he slipped on to the back of the docile old horse with his -clumsy burden the girl opened her eyes. She looked at him sleepily at -first, but as consciousness came to her she started up with a violent -jerk and stared at him wildly. She evidently did not realize what had -happened or just where she was.</p> -<p>“Let go of me,” she commanded sternly, and before Scott realized what -she was doing she had boxed his ears till they rang.</p> -<p>He held the wildly struggling little figure as best he could and tried -to explain. “Listen, I found you unconscious in the road and I’m only -trying to take you home.”</p> -<p>“Don’t you dare hold me,” she snapped angrily, and redoubled her -struggles. “I don’t want you to take me home. I’d rather die here than -have you touch me.”</p> -<p>Scott was so taken back and so indignant that he felt like dropping her -in the road and leaving her, but he could not do that. He gritted his -teeth and held her the more firmly. “Well, I am going to take you home, -young lady, whether you like it or not, so you might as well stop -struggling. You can go back in the road and die afterwards if you want -to.”</p> -<p>After an even more violent struggle than before the child’s form -suddenly collapsed, and she began to cry. This worried Scott far more -than her struggles.</p> -<p>“Don’t cry,” he begged her. “Where are you hurt and how did it happen?”</p> -<p>For a while she was silent save for her sobbing and when she spoke it -was not to answer his question. “If you’ve got to take me somewhere,” -she said in an uncertain voice, “take me to grandpa.”</p> -<p>Scott stopped the horse and looked at her doubtfully. “Why?” he asked.</p> -<p>“Because I ran away from home and never want to see my father again,” -she retorted defiantly. “And it’s none of your business,” she added -promptly.</p> -<p>Scott hesitated but he remembered what Mr. Sanders had said about her -spending most of her time with her grandfather, and after the events of -the afternoon he did not blame her for wanting to run away from her -father. “Where does your grandfather live?” he asked.</p> -<p>“Up the mountain,” she replied.</p> -<p>Scott turned the old horse around and he plodded slowly upward. The -light was already out when they passed Mr. Sanders’ cabin and all was -still. The girl did not deign to speak and Scott maintained a dignified -silence. They had traveled almost a mile when the girl spoke suddenly.</p> -<p>“If you say anything to granddad about that fight this afternoon, I’ll -kill you.”</p> -<p>Scott had already promised Mr. Sanders not to tell but there was -something he wanted to know. “How were you hurt this evening?” he asked -again.</p> -<p>“None of your business,” the child snapped.</p> -<p>“Then it may not be my business to keep your secret,” he retorted.</p> -<p>She was silent for a moment as though thinking it over. “The horse shied -at a hound on the bank and I fell off,” she replied reluctantly.</p> -<p>“How did it hurt you?” Scott insisted.</p> -<p>Again there was a pause as though she was struggling with herself. “I -have a knot on my head and my leg hurts,” she answered grudgingly.</p> -<p>Scott had found out what he wanted to know. “I promise not to tell,” he -said.</p> -<p>She did not thank him. A hound barked on the left-hand side of the road. -The horse stopped. She called to the hound and he stopped barking -instantly.</p> -<p>“Let me down from here,” she commanded.</p> -<p>Scott could see no reason for holding her longer. He balanced her on the -horse’s withers and slipped to the ground. He reached up to help her. -She tried to avoid him but he caught her and it was well that he did, -for when her foot touched the ground she uttered a sharp gasp and sank -limply. He thought for a second that she had fainted.</p> -<p>“Call granddad,” she commanded in a voice pinched with pain.</p> -<p>“Hello, there,” Scott called.</p> -<p>There was a noise as of some one cautiously opening a door.</p> -<p>“Grandpa,” the child called weakly.</p> -<p>The door swung wide and the old man strode hurriedly across the yard. -Scott was about to meet old Jarred Morgan.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chX'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER X</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>SCOTT MEETS JARRED</span></h2> -<p>Scott let the girl sit on the ground with her back against his knees and -watched the famous old man coming to protect his own. He presented a -striking figure striding along through the moonlight with hurried -dignity. His tall, gaunt form was as erect as that of a man of twenty, -and his step as springy. His ever present rifle hung comfortably across -the hollow of his arm. He cast one keen glance of suspicion at Scott and -knelt beside the girl.</p> -<p>“What is it, Vic?” he asked tenderly.</p> -<p>“I fell off old Dan,” she confessed sheepishly.</p> -<p>“Are you hurt?” he insisted anxiously.</p> -<p>“I have a knot on my head, and I twisted my leg,” she said.</p> -<p>“How under the sun did you come to fall off old Dan?” her grandfather -asked, as he laid down his long rifle and gathered her tenderly in his -arms. Scott stepped back a pace or two out of earshot.</p> -<p>“I was sitting on him sideways and he shied at a hound on top of the -bank down below Sanders’.”</p> -<p>“And this gentleman?” he asked, looking Scott squarely in the eye.</p> -<p>“He found me in the road and brought me home,” she replied shortly.</p> -<p>The old man straightened up with his burden and bowed solemnly to Scott. -“I thank you, sir.”</p> -<p>“I certainly am glad to have been of service to you,” Scott replied -cordially. “I hope to have the pleasure of calling on you in a day or so -if I may, so I will not intrude on you any longer at present.”</p> -<p>Jarred frankly looked him over from head to foot. “If you will be so -kind as to wait till I have taken the girl in the house I would like to -speak to you for a moment.”</p> -<p>“Certainly,” Scott answered politely. He liked the old man’s frank, -straightforward gaze, but it did not seem to him that steady eye looked -on him with much favor. Perhaps he was no more grateful than his -granddaughter. In less than five minutes he came out again to join -Scott. He came straight to the point.</p> -<p>“Sir, I am sorry that I could not invite you in, and I regret that I -have to appear discourteous to a man who has rendered me the service you -have.” Scott listened in silent astonishment and the old man continued. -“I owe you a debt which I can never repay for the kindness you have -shown my grandchild, but any man who aids my enemies can never be more -to me than a creditor, as much as I would like to have it otherwise.”</p> -<p>Scott was astonished at the old man’s courtly manner and fine English. -He did not learn till later that many of these mountaineers were -descendants of the old Huguenot families who were driven out of France -and had retained a wonderful purity of speech. He answered as earnestly -as he could.</p> -<p>“I do not know what you mean, Mr. Morgan, unless you refer to the rumor -that I am going to let the logging contract to the Waits.”</p> -<p>“You call it a rumor,” Jarred replied a little doubtfully. “It was -reported to me as a fact, apparently a very widely known fact,” he added -bitterly.</p> -<p>“I assure you that it is nothing more than a rumor and a false rumor at -that. I have not spoken more than half a dozen words to a Wait since I -came here.”</p> -<p>“That may all be true enough but did not your superior officer make the -promise for you?” Jarred asked with a slight sneer.</p> -<p>The sneer angered Scott but he knew that it was justified under the -circumstances.</p> -<p>“I, too, Mr. Morgan, have heard that Mr. Reynolds very rashly made some -informal promises to the Waits in regard to that contract. All I can say -is that he did it without conferring with me. I am entirely responsible -for letting that contract and I do not feel myself in any way bound by -what he may have said. I can assure you that there will be no contract -let to either the Waits or the Morgans unless they will agree to forget -their feud and take the contract together.”</p> -<p>Old Jarred looked him squarely in the eye for a minute before he -replied. Then he held out his hand. “I beg your pardon,” he said with -dignity. “You must charge my discourtesy to a mistake. I appreciate your -frankness and I want to be equally frank. Under those conditions there -will be no logging contract let here. Won’t you come in, sir?”</p> -<p>Scott had grasped the proffered hand eagerly. “Thank you, sir. I will -not come in now because it is late and you will be busy with the little -girl, but I would like to come up and talk things over with you -to-morrow.”</p> -<p>“We’ll be glad to see you any time,” Jarred answered cordially.</p> -<p>“Good night, sir. I hope the little girl’s injuries are not serious.”</p> -<p>“She’ll be all right to-morrow, I think. And thank you again for helping -her. Good night, sir.”</p> -<p>Scott turned down the mountain and left the old man standing in the -moonlight looking after him. He liked old Jarred; he was a man and a -gentleman. He did not wonder that he held the Waits at bay almost -unaided. One man like that could overawe a whole tribe of cowards such -as the Waits appeared to be.</p> -<p>And when Scott paused outside the hotel for a moment before going in, he -glanced admiringly up at the silvered mountainside where that staunch -old man was nursing his hate with such undaunted courage.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXI'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XI</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>A VISIT TO JARRED’S CABIN</span></h2> -<p>After breakfast the next morning Scott started back up the mountain. It -was a beautiful morning. A light haze still lay like a blanket over the -valley but the mountain ridges glistened in the sunshine. The woods -seemed alive with birds everywhere he looked and many of them were new -to him. It was the kind of morning that made a man feel as though he -would never get tired, and Scott walked with a light step. The gloom of -the night before had left him and everything seemed as bright as the -mountain tops. He felt as though everything must come out all right.</p> -<p>As he passed the Sanders’ cabin the old man was sweeping off his little -front porch. “Morning,” he called cheerfully, “going up to beard the -lion in his den, are you?”</p> -<p>“Yes,” Scott said, “and I am not a bit scared either. I met him last -night and I liked him. He seems like a real man.”</p> -<p>“Last night?” the old man repeated doubtfully.</p> -<p>“Yes, your little friend Vic fell off her horse down below here and hurt -herself a little and I took her home.”</p> -<p>“Oh!” Mr. Sanders exclaimed as though some mystery had been solved. -“That’s how it happened. I was wondering how you got into old Jarred’s -house at night. Vic was not hurt bad, was she?”</p> -<p>“Not so bad but what she almost tore me up before I got her home,” Scott -replied. And he told the old man what had happened.</p> -<p>“Sounds like Vic. So she was running away from home, was she? She’ll -never go back either. I thought something would come of that row -yesterday.”</p> -<p>Scott was puzzled. “How is that?” he asked.</p> -<p>“Jim let Foster grab her. She’ll never forgive him for that.”</p> -<p>“I see,” Scott said. “I can’t say that I blame her much, either.”</p> -<p>“Well,” the old man sighed, “it may be wrong to back the girl against -her father, but I like Vic and there is no denying she is twice the man -Jim is. She is just like her grandfather.”</p> -<p>“I liked him,” Scott exclaimed. “He told me right away last night that -he never would give up the feud, but I liked him all the same.”</p> -<p>The old man opened his mouth as though to speak but changed his mind and -closed it again. Then after a pause, “Well, stop in when you come down -and tell me how Vic is. I’ll be anxious about her.”</p> -<p>Scott hurried on. At the Morgan gate he remembered Mr. Sanders’ advice -and shouted before he entered. Old Jarred appeared almost instantly in -the doorway. When he saw who it was, he stood the long rifle against the -corner beside the door and called to Scott to come in. He met him -halfway to the gate with extended hand.</p> -<p>“Come in, sir, come in, sir,” he repeated hospitably. “Vic is a little -shy but I reckon she’ll be glad to see you.”</p> -<p>“She seemed anything but glad to see me when I picked her up last -night,” Scott laughed. “I thought she was going to tear me up before I -could get her home.”</p> -<p>Old Jarred chuckled. “Vic’s a fighter, she is. You see she had heard -that rumor about the logging contract and she hates the Waits worse than -I do. She feels right ashamed of herself this morning.”</p> -<p>“Well, she needn’t,” Scott said. “I understood why it was and admired -her nerve.”</p> -<p>“If the Morgan men had half Vic’s nerve this feud might end,” old Jarred -remarked bitterly.</p> -<p>“Why not drop it, anyway?” Scott asked. “I’ll wager there is not one of -your worst enemies who would not admit that you did not do it because -you were afraid. It seems such a pity to have it go on. It can end in -only one way some day.”</p> -<p>Old Jarred stopped in the doorway and looked at him for a moment. Scott -had not intended to broach the subject so suddenly and he half expected -a burst of anger, but it did not come.</p> -<p>“Yes,” the old man answered sadly, “it can have only one ending. They -will get me some day. But as I told you last night I shall never give it -up; so let’s not discuss it.” He saw the disappointment in Scott’s face -and laid a friendly hand on his shoulder. “I am sorry, my boy, for I -know that you mean well. I suppose it does look to you like a wholly -unreasonable thing, but you don’t know all the story. You are asking -something that it is utterly impossible for me to do. So it is better to -drop it.”</p> -<p>Scott could not hide his disappointment but he bowed his respect for the -old man’s request. “I hope Vic was not badly hurt last night?” he asked.</p> -<p>Jarred smiled his gratitude. “No, no. Sprained her knee a little, but -she is hobbling around this morning and will be all right in a day or -so.”</p> -<p>The cabin into which Jarred led the way was a plain oblong structure -built of logs. There was but one room which served as bedroom, dining -room, living room and kitchen, but it was clean and everything seemed to -be in order.</p> -<p>“Pretty neat for an old man’s den,” Jarred chuckled with evident pride. -“Vic did that for me this morning in spite of her crippled knee.”</p> -<p>There was an uncertain thump on the back step and Scott turned to see -Vic hopping in on one foot. She certainly looked like a different girl -from the one he had struggled with the night before. She hopped toward -him without embarrassment and held out her hand.</p> -<p>“I am sorry I acted so badly last night,” she said frankly. “I hope that -you will forget it. I would have been in a pickle without you.”</p> -<p>Could this be the little wildcat he had picked up in the road the night -before? Scott stared at her open-mouthed for a moment before he could -find his tongue.</p> -<p>“I could not very well expect anything else when I picked you up and -carried you off against your will,” he laughed, when he had finally -recovered from his astonishment.</p> -<p>“She says she is going to stay with me now,” Jarred said. “Says she has -had a row with her father and is not going back. I don’t know what the -trouble is and I’m afraid to look it up for fear I might have to send -her back.”</p> -<p>He put his arm affectionately around the child and it was plain to see -where he would put the blame. She cast an apprehensive glance at Scott -and he knew she was worrying about the promise she had extracted from -him the night before. He relieved her mind at once.</p> -<p>“There are one or two things I would like to know before I go on with -this timber sale, Mr. Morgan, and I think you can probably answer my -questions better than any one else if you will.”</p> -<p>Jarred nodded. “I’ll be glad to help you all I can.”</p> -<p>“I have already told you,” Scott proceeded, “that I am not willing to -give the contract to either the Waits or the Morgans unless they will -take it jointly. I have heard—and heard it so often that I think it must -be true—that Mr. Reynolds promised this contract to the Waits. Of course -either of you has a right to bid on it if you want to, and I can’t stop -you. I could turn either of you down even though you were the high -bidder, but you can easily see in what a disagreeable position that -would place me and I don’t want to do it.”</p> -<p>Jarred nodded his comprehension.</p> -<p>“Could either faction put up a bond of fifty thousand dollars as a -guaranty?” Scott asked.</p> -<p>Jarred smiled sourly. “Five thousand would strain either of us -considerable.”</p> -<p>“Then it will be simple enough,” Scott said. “The law requires that -guaranty. But I want to be perfectly certain that it cannot be met.”</p> -<p>“You need not worry about that,” Jarred replied. “It would be altogether -impossible.”</p> -<p>Scott felt relieved. Here would be an easy way to get out of the promise -Mr. Reynolds had made the Waits. Probably he had not told them anything -about the necessity for a bond.</p> -<p>“Then my next question, Mr. Morgan, is this. If an outsider takes that -contract will the Waits and the Morgans work for him on the same job?”</p> -<p>“They will not,” Jarred replied decisively, and Vic bristled visibly at -the mere thought of it. “Moreover,” Jarred continued, “no outsider will -take the contract.”</p> -<p>“Why not?” Scott asked sharply. He had taken this as a threat and it -made him bristle a little on his own part.</p> -<p>“Because none of them will touch it for fear of getting mixed up in this -feud. They have tried that and no one would risk it.”</p> -<p>“It’s a wonder Mr. Reynolds would not tell me about that!” Scott -exclaimed indignantly.</p> -<p>“You would not need to know it if you had followed his plan,” Jarred -remarked ironically.</p> -<p>“Then I have one last question. Would the people here interfere with an -outsider if he brought his own crew in here?”</p> -<p>“I would not,” Jarred replied promptly, “and I don’t think any of our -people would. I can’t answer for the others.”</p> -<p>Scott rose to go. “I certainly appreciate your help, Mr. Morgan, and I -feel that I can rely on what you say.”</p> -<p>“Don’t leave a man much chance to do anything,” Jarred said -sympathetically.</p> -<p>“Not much,” Scott admitted, “but I am going to get that stuff logged if -I have to do it myself.”</p> -<p>“Maybe you won’t always have this trouble,” Jarred said with a twinkle -in his cold gray eye and a wink toward the child. “When I’m gone the -rest of them will all let the feud drop.”</p> -<p>The child straightened suddenly and the blood rushed to her cheeks, but -she caught sight of the twinkle and subsided again with exactly the same -twinkle in her own.</p> -<p>Scott took his leave and when he rounded the turn in the road that shut -off the view of the Morgan cabin the old man was still standing at the -gate with his arm around the girl’s shoulders. To Scott they represented -the last link which was holding the old feud together.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXII'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XII</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>SCOTT ASKS FOR BIDS</span></h2> -<p>The next morning a wave of astonishment quickly followed by another of -indignation spread over the west mountain with almost incredible -rapidity, and a corresponding feeling of relief and satisfaction settled -on the family of the Morgans. Quite the reverse of the situation of the -day before.</p> -<p>The sole cause of this momentous change was a small sign posted on the -village bulletin board. It was couched in somewhat intricate legal -language, but it said in effect that bids were now open for the logging -contract and any one desiring to submit one must place it in the hands -of the supervisor, along with a bond for fifty thousand dollars, within -ten days. No one had seen either a Wait or a Morgan read it, but their -knowledge of it was universal.</p> -<p>Single horsemen threaded their way along by-roads and paths on the west -slope to meet others at cabins scattered here and there over the -mountainside, and all these little groups finally assembled at the home -of Foster Wait. That worthy gentleman was half intoxicated, as usual, -and greeted each sullen new arrival with a detailed blustering account -of what he was going to do to the man who had double-crossed him. They -did not seem to take much stock in what he said (it looked as though -they had perhaps heard that same kind of bluster from him many times -before) and their apparent indifference drove him to wilder boasts.</p> -<p>Hopwood sat on the corner of the porch whittling a stick and apparently -oblivious to all that was going on around him. He glanced occasionally -from one of the group to another but the blank expression on his face -never changed. The others paid no attention to him at all except when -they wanted to know something. They seemed to be strangely inconsistent. -They treated him as an idiot except when they wanted news, but they put -implicit confidence in what he said.</p> -<p>“Where did you find this out, Hop?” one of the newcomers asked. It was -Sewall Wait, the real leader of the Wait faction. Foster was the nominal -ruler by inheritance, but Sewall furnished the brains which Foster -lacked. He had to repeat the question before Hopwood seemed to -understand.</p> -<p>“It is on the bulletin board in the village,” Hopwood answered in an -expressionless tone.</p> -<p>“What did it say?”</p> -<p>Hopwood repeated the gist of the notice.</p> -<p>“Who read it to you?”</p> -<p>Hopwood seemed offended at the string of questions. He did not answer at -once but seemed to think better of it. “Mr. Roberts,” he answered in the -same dull tone.</p> -<p>Sewall turned towards Foster but came back again to Hopwood. “Where’s -that man Reynolds?” he asked.</p> -<p>“Left on the train yesterday,” Hopwood answered promptly.</p> -<p>Sewall walked over to where Foster was raving for the benefit of two -late comers. “What’s the use of bawling like a spanked kid?” he asked in -a disgusted tone. “That is a formal request for bids posted in regular -form by the U. S. Government, and if Hopwood has the lingo right it’s -according to law. That man Reynolds is the fellow who made a sucker of -you and he went home yesterday. I’m going home myself.”</p> -<p>“Going home?” Foster raved. “And let that little squirt of a supervisor -rob us of the contract and probably give it to old Jarred Morgan? No, -sir, we’ll go down there and teach him that he can’t trifle with the -Waits. That contract is ours and I am going to make him give it to us.”</p> -<p>“And get your ears boxed for your trouble,” Sewall sneered as he walked -to his horse. “Fighting the Morgans is one thing, but fighting the U. S. -Government is something else.”</p> -<p>Foster was furious at the reference to his boxed ears and started after -him with waving fists, but Sewall rode slowly out of the yard without so -much as looking at him, and his three sons followed him.</p> -<p>Foster bawled threats and objurgations after them till they were far out -of earshot and then returned to rail at the others. “Hopwood!” he -shouted.</p> -<p>They all looked at the place where Hopwood had been sitting. It was -vacant. Hopwood had disappeared in his usual sudden manner.</p> -<p>One by one the others tired of Foster’s futile raving and rode away till -the hereditary leader of the family was left alone. The frenzy into -which he had worked himself had sobered him and he looked after the last -of his departing followers with anxious humiliation. He knew the -trouble; it had happened before. He had talked too much and done too -little. He would have to do something to reinstate himself and he owed -the supervisor something anyway. This would be a good chance to kill two -birds with one stone. He would have preferred some company but there was -no chance of that now, and he prepared to go alone.</p> -<p>In the meanwhile Scott was sitting down in the hotel waiting. He knew -that nothing could come of this advertisement either on the bulletin -board or in the local papers where he had sent it, and he wanted to be -about his business. He knew what he was going to do now and he was -anxious to be at it, but he knew what a hubbub the news would make among -the Waits and he did not want to appear to run away. He had to wait at -least till he had seen Foster Wait. It would never do for them to come -down and find that he had left the country as soon as he had posted the -notice. His duty did not require him to stay there, but his pride did.</p> -<p>He sat on the front porch, from which point of vantage he could bring -the whole village under his surveillance at once. He could see the -little white square of his posted notice on the bulletin board at the -other end of the street, and he watched it curiously to see if any one -would read it. He saw two or three from the east slope stop there, and -come on to the Morgan store in apparent good humor. No one at all came -down from the Wait territory, and Scott was disappointed because they -were the ones on whom he was anxious to note the effect.</p> -<p>One hour crawled slowly after another and he patiently watched the -lights and shadows creeping over the mountain slopes as the sun rose -higher in the heavens. It was after ten o’clock when Scott happened to -glance to his right and started to find Hopwood sitting in an -inconspicuous place on the end of the porch.</p> -<p>“Where under the sun did you come from, Hopwood?” he exclaimed.</p> -<p>Hopwood spread his hands in both directions as he always did to indicate -that he came from everywhere.</p> -<p>“Foster is pretty mad,” he remarked casually.</p> -<p>“Have you seen him?” Scott asked anxiously.</p> -<p>Hopwood nodded. “I saw them all.”</p> -<p>“I suppose they were holding a big family powwow over it and will all be -swarming down here after a while to find out what it means.” Scott -chuckled at the discomfiture he was causing the Waits, for he had taken -a distinct dislike to the whole tribe with the exception of Hopwood.</p> -<p>“No,” Hopwood remarked quietly, “they are not coming, but maybe Foster -will get up the nerve to come down alone. He’ll pretty near have to or -he will be done for.”</p> -<p>“What do you mean?” Scott asked. “I thought they always went in a gang.”</p> -<p>Hopwood shook his head. “Sewall would not back him up.”</p> -<p>“Who is Sewall?” Scott had never heard of him and he had gathered from -what he had heard that Foster was the leader of the Waits.</p> -<p>“He’s the only Wait who has any brains,” Hopwood answered, and added -naïvely, “except me.”</p> -<p>Scott glanced at him keenly but saw only the usual blank expression. “By -George, Hopwood!” he exclaimed, “I believe you really have more brains -than any of them. But what do you mean by saying that Foster will have -to come?”</p> -<p>“He’s been saying so much about what he is going to do to you that he -will have to do it or they will quit him,” Hopwood explained.</p> -<p>Scott rubbed his hands with satisfaction at the prospect of a meeting -with Foster Wait alone.</p> -<p>“Are you sure he will come, Hopwood?”</p> -<p>Hopwood was silent a moment as though waiting for a message. “Yes,” he -said confidently. “He’ll be here in about an hour. Don’t let him scare -you. He’s a coward.”</p> -<p>“Going to try to scare me into it, is he?” Scott asked, but Hopwood had -disappeared and left him to plan alone for his meeting with Foster Wait.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXIII'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XIII</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>FOSTER WAIT DEMANDS THE CONTRACT</span></h2> -<p>The news that Foster Wait had been boasting among his followers of the -terrible things he was going to do to the supervisor and the possibility -of his coming down alone to make good his threats gave Scott a new -interest in the meeting. He had taken an instinctive dislike to the man -at first sight, and everything he had seen and heard of him since had -only served to intensify that feeling.</p> -<p>Foster was a much larger man than Scott, but Scott had not needed -Hopwood’s warning to tell him that the giant was a coward. He had seen -it and felt it. Probably his followers knew it, too, and maybe that was -the reason they had refused to back him up. That was one of the things -he had wanted to ask Hopwood, but the man of the iron hat always -disappeared before he found out half that he wanted to know.</p> -<p>A man appeared suddenly at the end of the village and Scott watched him -eagerly, but it proved to be only the mail carrier who had stopped to -read the notice. A new notice on the Caspar bulletin board was in itself -an event. The time dragged slowly by and still the expected visitor did -not arrive. Could Hopwood have failed in his prophecy? He had the -reputation of being infallible.</p> -<p>Things always happen when they are least expected, and Foster Wait had -ridden his white horse halfway up the village street before Scott saw -him. But even then the suspense was not over for the rider stopped at -the store instead of coming straight to the hotel as Scott had hoped. -Probably he had dropped in there to bolster up his nerve with a little -more bragging, Scott thought. If so, he must have had a great deal of -bragging to do, for ten minutes elapsed and he had not come out.</p> -<p>Finally some one came out of the store and started for the hotel. Scott -was disappointed to see that it was not Foster but one of the boys who -stayed at the store. The boy shuffled along slowly looking everywhere -except at Scott, and plainly showing that his errand was not to his -liking. He headed for the corner of the house as though he were going -around to the back door but changed his course suddenly and edged along -the front of the porch. His actions were so peculiar that Scott watched -him keenly.</p> -<p>The boy finally came to a halt about ten feet away and looked the front -of the house over carefully as though he had come to estimate the cost -of a new coat of paint.</p> -<p>“Foster says he wants to see you at the store right away,” the boy -gulped suddenly without looking at Scott.</p> -<p>Scott was so amused at the boy’s embarrassment that he almost forgot to -be indignant at Foster’s message, but he stiffened a little as he -realized the impertinence of the command.</p> -<p>“Tell Mr. Wait that I am at the hotel and will be glad to see him any -time he cares to come,” Scott said with forced dignity.</p> -<p>“That’s what I told him,” the boy said, as he looked at Scott for the -first time. And he seemed very much relieved. He hopped out of the gate -and whistled all the way to the store.</p> -<p>Scott waited anxiously for the result of his message. He did not have to -wait so long this time. Foster’s angry roar when he heard the boy’s -message reached Scott at the hotel, and the next minute Foster lunged -out of the door. Three men followed him out on to the store porch, but -they stopped there and watched him clamber on to his big white horse. -Another small group gathered in front of the Morgan store to see the -show.</p> -<p>It was not over seventy yards from the store to the hotel and it would -have been easier for Foster to walk, but he was not used to walking and -he felt that he would be more impressive on his horse. He started from -the store at a gallop but before he had covered the short distance he -had slowed down to a walk. He drew up at the gate and scowled at Scott -fiercely.</p> -<p>“When I tell people to come to me they come,” he blustered. He knew when -he said it that it was the wrong thing to say but he could not help it.</p> -<p>Scott looked at him calmly. “It must be very convenient to have them so -well trained,” he remarked.</p> -<p>“You will be trained, too, before I am through with you,” Foster -blustered. “That’s what I came for.”</p> -<p>“Then maybe you better come in and have a seat, for it will probably -take some time.” Scott pushed forward a chair and smiled at him -tauntingly.</p> -<p>Foster hesitated. He felt that he was decidedly getting the worst of it -and he was uncertain just how to proceed. He might force him down to the -store at the point of his rifle, but he was a coward at heart and he -feared the consequences. He slowly dismounted and swaggered up to the -porch with all the braggadocio he could muster. Scott rose to meet him. -Foster climbed the two steps to the porch and glared down at Scott from -his superior height.</p> -<p>“I want to know what you mean by not giving us that logging contract?” -he blustered fiercely.</p> -<p>“Won’t you be seated?” Scott said quietly, as he offered him a chair.</p> -<p>“I did not come here to sit down,” Foster growled angrily. “I came here -to find out why you did not give us that logging contract.”</p> -<p>“Oh,” Scott said as though puzzled, “I understood you to say that you -came to train me to come when you called.”</p> -<p>“I’ll do that, too, before I’m through with you,” Foster exclaimed, -furiously. “Are you going to answer my question or will I have to beat -it out of you?”</p> -<p>Scott looked him calmly in the eye a moment and smiled contemptuously. -“You want to know why I did not give this contract to ‘us’? Just whom do -you mean? Who is ‘us’? You forget that you are a stranger to me.”</p> -<p>Foster stared at him open-mouthed. Then the blood rushed to his already -purple face, his neck swelled and his whole frame shook with the fury of -his passion. His words were almost inarticulate. “You know me, you -insolent hound. Everybody knows Foster Wait and a lot of ’em to their -sorrow. Answer that question before I send you after old Jarred Morgan. -I’ll teach you to insult a Wait!”</p> -<p>Scott knew of Foster’s furious temper and he had been doing his best to -arouse it. He wanted him to fight and he knew that he would not do it -except in a fit of passion. He knew his danger and he watched the man’s -every move as he gave his temper one more prod.</p> -<p>“Talk sense, Mr. Wait, if you want an answer from me,” he sneered. -“Threats do not scare me any more than they do old Jarred Morgan.”</p> -<p>Foster gave a roar of rage and threw forward his long rifle. He would -undoubtedly have shot Scott as he had shot several other men when worked -up to an uncontrollable passion, but Scott had been watching for just -such a move.</p> -<p>He had already grasped hold of a short piece of pipe which he had leaned -up against a pillar of the porch in case of emergency, and when Foster -threw forward his rifle he struck the barrel with all his might. The -unexpected blow knocked the weapon out of Foster’s hands, and the bullet -went through the roof of the porch.</p> -<p>The suddenness of it all bewildered Foster for a moment and before he -had fully recovered, Scott struck him a crushing blow on the jaw. The -blow staggered him, but he quickly recovered his balance and threw -himself upon Scott with the fury of a wild animal. He was usually a -coward but now he was a crazy man, blinded by his passion, and did not -realize what he was doing.</p> -<p>His enormous size and great reach gave him a decided advantage in one -way but it was partially offset by Scott’s skill and coolness. If he -should succeed in landing one of his terrific but wild swings or in -grappling his opponent the fight could have but one ending. Scott’s only -chance was to keep out of his reach and hammer him into submission. -Foster fought with all the wild fury of a madman; Scott, with the -coolness of a boxing master.</p> -<p>Again and again Scott landed blows which would have felled a smaller -man. Some of them staggered this giant a little but most of them seemed -to have no effect at all. Scott was handicapped by the necessity of -keeping entirely out of his reach. A grazing blow on the side of his -head warned him that if one of them should land squarely he would be -done for.</p> -<p>In attempting to avoid one of Foster’s mad rushes Scott stepped off the -edge of the porch and fell on his back on the ground. Instantly Foster -jumped for his head with both hobnailed boots. For the fraction of a -second Scott, stunned by the fall, saw this demon hovering over him, and -the sight almost sickened him. But he recovered just in time to roll -suddenly over out of reach and spring to his feet. Foster, dazed by the -escape of his victim, tripped and fell. Scott could have jumped on the -lumbering giant there on the ground but he had been taught to play the -game fair. Moreover, he did not want this man to have any excuse. He -wanted to thrash him as he had never been thrashed before and make him -acknowledge it.</p> -<p>The men from both stores had edged up to the fence and almost forgotten -the dead line in their excitement.</p> -<p>Scott let the giant scramble to his feet unmolested, and paid dear for -his chivalry. He had counted on this man’s dissipation sapping his -endurance. It was beginning to tell on him. His breath was coming in -great choking gasps but his mountain training had made him tough. -Moreover, he realized that his strength was waning, and with that -knowledge his blind fury gave way to craft.</p> -<p>Scott had always boxed according to the rules of the ring, and he was -taken entirely off his guard when Foster suddenly sprang some lumberjack -tactics and landed his hobnailed boot squarely in his stomach. For a -second everything turned black before him and he staggered like a -drunken man. As in a haze he saw the giant spring forward to finish him -off. With the instinct of the fighter, he side-stepped and the instant’s -reprieve brought back his wandering senses and his wind.</p> -<p>When he saw the slight effect of his blows earlier in the fight he had -devoted himself almost entirely to defense and saved his strength till -Foster should be tired out. Now he took the offensive with all his -power. He rained blow after blow on the gasping giant with bewildering -rapidity and finally, seeing the man was almost exhausted, he threw -every ounce of strength into a blow square on the point of his chin.</p> -<p>The big fellow staggered an instant and sank limply in a lifeless heap. -Scott leaned panting against the fence. He was almost exhausted. Foster -moved uneasily and raised himself groaning on one elbow.</p> -<p>“Are you through training me to come when you call?” Scott asked between -his gasps for breath.</p> -<p>Foster rose slowly and wobbled towards the gate without a word. Not a -word of sympathy came from his friends and they watched him clamber -painfully on to his horse without offering any assistance. He rode -slowly down the village street with drooping head, a thoroughly beaten -man.</p> -<p>The two groups of men walked silently back to the stores and left Scott -still leaning against the fence, weak and sick, but filled with a -feeling of intense satisfaction.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXIV'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XIV</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>SCOTT MAKES A TRIP TO WASHINGTON</span></h2> -<p>Scott leaned wearily on the picket fence for a long time after the old -white horse had carried Foster out of sight up the mountain road. He did -not bear any trace of the fight on his face, but his body was sore and -he was very nearly exhausted. He could not but smile as he stood there -with heaving chest to think how far he had departed from the policy of -strict neutrality which he had laid down for himself. But from the -remarks which Hopwood had dropped that morning he doubted whether it -would make very much difference to the Waits.</p> -<p>Well, it was done now, anyway, no matter what the Waits might think. He -had shown them that he had no intention of running away, and he felt -that he could now go about his own business without running the risk of -being called a coward. As he turned toward the hotel he saw Hopwood -leaning on the corner of the fence.</p> -<p>“Well, Hopwood, did you see the big fight?” he asked smilingly.</p> -<p>“That was a good job,” Hopwood replied soberly.</p> -<p>“Shall I have to fight all of the rest of the Waits now, Hopwood?” Scott -asked a little anxiously. He did not want to waste any more time waiting -for these people or fighting them.</p> -<p>Hopwood shook his head. “Sewall told him he would get his ears boxed -again. They will be glad of it.”</p> -<p>“Listen, Hopwood. Is Sewall going to try to take the contract?” Scott -asked earnestly.</p> -<p>“No,” Hopwood replied emphatically. “How could he? There is not that -much money in the whole country.”</p> -<p>“I did not think there was myself but I wanted to make sure of it. Could -you deliver a message for me, Hopwood?”</p> -<p>Hopwood looked up eagerly. Collecting news and carrying messages were -things he liked best to do. He did not have to speak. Scott could see -that he was more than willing.</p> -<p>“I have some business I want to attend to, Hopwood,” Scott continued, -“and I’ll have to go away for a couple of days. If I go now it will look -as though I have thrashed Foster and then run away. I want you to tell -Foster Wait, or maybe it would be better to tell Sewall, if he is the -real head of the family, that I am going away for three days but will be -back here Saturday. You can tell the same thing to Jarred, too, so that -they will all know it. Do you think that you have it straight now?”</p> -<p>Hopwood nodded gravely. “I always get messages straight,” he replied -proudly. “You are sure you will be back Saturday?” He had taken a -strange liking to this man who had treated him like a rational being and -thrashed his surly uncle.</p> -<p>“Yes, Hopwood, I’ll certainly be here Saturday without fail, and,” he -added, for he could see how the friendship pleased Hopwood, “I would -like to see you again pretty soon after I get back.”</p> -<p>He might as well have saved himself the trouble, for Hopwood had gone to -deliver his precious message. Scott sighed when he saw that the man was -gone. He could not get used to his unexpected movements. He wasted no -more thoughts on it now. The dinner bell rang, on time for once, and the -station agent came in the gate.</p> -<p>“Hear you beat up Foster Wait,” he grinned.</p> -<p>“Yes,” Scott admitted. “He forced it on me but I was glad of the -opportunity. Who told you?”</p> -<p>“One of the Wait boys told me, but that would have been unnecessary -after I saw Foster.”</p> -<p>“I wonder what the Waits will think of it?” Scott asked. He was anxious -to have some one back up Hopwood’s opinion.</p> -<p>“They are as tickled as you are,” the agent answered confidently. “He is -always bragging, and none of them like him. He’ll probably have to quit -the country after this.”</p> -<p>Scott was glad to hear it. That would leave him free to carry out his -plans. He told the agent of the trip he was going to make, and spent the -afternoon busily working over a bunch of legal-looking papers. Four -o’clock found him on the afternoon train headed north, an impatient -traveler.</p> -<p>Scott had not told any one where he was going. If he had said that he -was going to Washington, they would have thought that he was running -away as the other fellows had done. But he was going to Washington, and -when he got there he lost no time in going to the Forest Service office -and to the chief of his division.</p> -<p>Mr. Johns seemed very much surprised to see him back so soon. “Well, -Burton,” he laughed, “I didn’t think that they could put the run on you, -not so soon, anyway.” He laughed, but at the same time it was plain that -he was disappointed.</p> -<p>“Well, they have,” Scott replied, “but I am going back.”</p> -<p>Mr Johns brightened at once. “That sounds better,” he said heartily.</p> -<p>“There are one or two things about that logging contract I want to make -sure of,” Scott said. “As I understand it, those logs have been sold and -we have contracted to have them delivered at a certain time.”</p> -<p>“That’s right,” Mr. Johns agreed. “It is rather an unusual thing to do, -but we were forced to it in this instance or we could not have bought -that piece of land for the forest at all.”</p> -<p>“And now,” Scott continued, “we are responsible for the delivery, and no -one will take the logging contract.”</p> -<p>Mr. Johns frowned. “I thought that man Reynolds told me that he had -arranged for the logging contract before he left.”</p> -<p>“Maybe he thought he had,” Scott replied bitterly, “but he hadn’t.”</p> -<p>“Don’t be bashful in saying what you think about him,” Mr. Johns urged. -“He was a man we took on temporarily, and we’ve let him out again.”</p> -<p>“It is a good thing,” Scott said. “I think I should have killed him -myself if he had stayed there. Do you know the situation down there, Mr. -Johns?”</p> -<p>“No,” Mr. Johns replied, “I am beginning to think that I do not. Two men -were sent there before you were. Both of them seemed to be getting along -fine according to their reports, but one suddenly resigned and the other -asked for a transfer. Neither of them gave a very satisfactory reason.”</p> -<p>Scott grinned. “I can tell you the reason. There is an A1 feud down -there. Those fellows tied up with one party, and the other one ran them -out of the country.”</p> -<p>Mr. Johns was intensely interested and insisted on knowing all the -details. “But why not ignore both factions and give the contract to an -outsider? That is altogether possible.”</p> -<p>“That’s what I thought,” Scott said, “but everybody knows of that feud, -and no one will touch the contract for fear of getting mixed up in it.”</p> -<p>Mr. Johns rubbed his forehead in perplexity. “And unless we can deliver -those logs on time we’ll lose our option on that piece of land. What are -you going to do about it?” He looked at Scott helplessly.</p> -<p>“Resign like the rest of them,” Scott grinned.</p> -<p>“Oh, come now, Burton,” Mr. Johns remonstrated. “I did not expect that -of you. You have the reputation of being resourceful and a fighter. You -are not going to resign and let yourself be run out of the country at -the first sign of trouble, are you?”</p> -<p>“Yes,” Scott replied firmly, “I’m going to resign but I’m not going to -be run out of the country. I want to resign and take that logging -contract myself.”</p> -<p>Mr. Johns looked at him a moment in open-mouthed astonishment. “Do you -mean that?” he asked eagerly.</p> -<p>Scott nodded. “If it will be all right with you. I am going to put in my -bid. I had some experience logging my own timber last winter, you know, -and I’d be willing to spend my last dollar to beat that feud down -there.”</p> -<p>His chief thought a moment. “It’s a bit irregular, and I’ll have to take -it up with the forester, but under the circumstances I believe it can be -done.”</p> -<p>The upshot of the matter was that Scott started back for North Carolina -the next day with the assurance that if no one else made a satisfactory -bid, his resignation would be accepted and he would be awarded the -contract.</p> -<p>Three days before he had been hoping for some one to bid on that same -contract; now he was praying with all his heart that no one would.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXV'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XV</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>SCOTT HEARS SOME RUMBLINGS OF THE OLD FEUD</span></h2> -<p>Scott stopped for a day in Asheville to make some business arrangements -for starting the logging operations in case he was awarded the contract -and then hurried back to Caspar. He found Hopwood, who had constituted -himself his faithful follower, waiting for him in the corner of the -hotel yard.</p> -<p>“I knew you’d come back,” Hopwood remarked in a tone of extreme -satisfaction.</p> -<p>“Why?” Scott asked. “Did any one think that I was not coming back?”</p> -<p>Hopwood nodded. “They all said you had run away like all the others, and -Foster has been taking most of the credit for it.”</p> -<p>Scott ground his teeth. “I suppose that will set him up in business -again with the rest of the family.”</p> -<p>“A lot of them believed it, but now that you have come back he will -probably have to leave the country himself. None of them will believe -him now.”</p> -<p>“Well, tell them that I have come back, Hopwood, and I’ve come back to -stay. They will find out before I am through that I am not very badly -scared after all.”</p> -<p>“Has any one taken the logging contract?” Hopwood asked eagerly. “It -would help me if I could predict it right,” he added wistfully.</p> -<p>Scott looked at him curiously a moment. The more he saw of Hopwood the -harder it was for him to believe him an idiot. In any event it was -perfectly clear that he was devoted to him and he decided to make him -his confidant. It could not do him much harm if the man of the iron hat -did not keep faith in this and it might make him a closer friend.</p> -<p>“Yes, Hopwood, some one has bid on it. You can safely predict that the -logging will begin in ten days, for—but you must not publish this part -of it—if no one else takes the job I am going to resign and take it -myself.”</p> -<p>“Oh!” Hopwood exclaimed with a gasp of satisfaction. “I won’t tell them -but you don’t know how much good it will do me to know that.” And -without waiting to make his usual mysterious disappearance he walked -quickly into the woods to carry the news of Scott’s return.</p> -<p>Scott was not surprised to find that no one had responded to his call -for bids. He had found out in Asheville that there was practically no -chance of any one showing any interest in it. He hoped no one would. He -had to confide his plans to the station agent because he had to send a -number of telegrams. Probably Caspar had never done such a business in -telegrams before in all its existence, even when the feud was at its -height.</p> -<p>For the next week Scott devoted all his time to a careful study of the -area which was to be logged. From breakfast till supper-time every day -he hiked over the mountains, running out the boundary lines, sketching -the topography and tentatively locating the logging roads. This work led -him through the territory and by the cabins of many of the Waits but he -did not see any of them. They seemed to be sulking in their tents.</p> -<p>It seemed to Scott to be a strange country. Long straight slopes -stretched unbroken to the high, level ridges. They were grooved every -quarter mile or less with shallow draws and not far below the ridge in -these draws were springs which sent tiny, crystal-clear streams of -ice-cold water trickling down into the valley. The low places and also -many of the higher slopes were covered with a solid mat of rhododendron -and laurel, so thick that a man was obliged to break or cut his way -through it. It was the densest growth he had ever seen outside of the -cane brakes of Florida. The great masses of white flowers made a -wonderful sight, but after he had tried to run a line through the stuff -for a couple of days he could no longer see the flowers.</p> -<p>But the ridges were the strangest of all. They were narrow but straight -and level, so level that the old Indian trails followed them rather than -the valleys. And the big red oaks came right up to the top. Only at long -intervals did the ridges dip to a low pass; otherwise, they stretched -for miles as level as the floor and were clear of underbrush.</p> -<p>It was on one of these level, open trails that Scott had the scare of -his life. He had been familiar with razorback hogs in Florida. He had -seen one tear a hound to pieces one day and had learned to fear the -animals as he feared nothing else in the forest. Tall, thin and capable -of great speed, they were entirely different from any hogs he had ever -seen at home. Their heads were half as long as their bodies, with large -tusks and powerful jaws, and they were fearless. Once they had made up -their minds to charge, nothing would turn them. One had to kill them or -get out of the way.</p> -<p>One morning as Scott was going out to work he saw an old sow with a -litter of very small pigs in a clump of bushes beside the trail, and he -gave her a wide berth. That evening on the way home he had forgotten all -about her. He was absorbed in his plans for the logging job and wholly -oblivious of his surroundings. The razorback never entered his head.</p> -<p>A large red oak three feet in diameter had fallen across the trail and -Scott vaulted it mechanically, hardly knowing what he was doing. His -feet had scarcely struck the ground when he heard a vicious “woof,” and -the old sow darted out from under the other end of the log headed -straight for him under a full head of steam.</p> -<p>Scott was frightened as he had never been frightened before. With one -terrified spring he vaulted back over the log. That would have been -sufficient protection from an ordinary pig, but a fallen tree meant -nothing to a razorback. She cleared the tree without the slightest -hesitation and was close behind him.</p> -<p>This unexpected jump so terrified Scott that he bolted like a frightened -horse. He had never been a very fast runner but now he turned straight -down the side of the mountain and made a new life record. It seemed to -him that his feet were hitting the ground only about every thirty feet. -Below him he saw a stream with high, steep banks, and at one point a -tree had fallen across it. He made madly for that spot, somehow managed -to stay on the log, tripped and fell in a heap on the other side. He -scrambled to his feet expecting to find those ugly tusks at his very -throat only to find instead that the old sow was fully satisfied with -his retreat and was already trotting back up the slope to her babies.</p> -<p>Scott could not help laughing as he thought what a great show it would -have been for a spectator. The conqueror of Foster Wait breaking the -world’s record in his endeavors to get away from an angry pig. And yet -it might have been serious, and he knew that he would run as fast or -faster next time.</p> -<p>He was getting himself together for the climb back up the ridge when he -noticed a deeply worn trail along the edge of the little creek. He -thought at first that it was made by the razorbacks and the cattle which -roamed around the mountains in considerable numbers, but he was -surprised to find that the tracks were made by men, and some of them -very recently.</p> -<p>Where could such a well-worn path as that lead to away up there on the -mountainside? It might be a short cut over the ridge into the Tennessee -valley, but why should so many people be traveling that way on foot? -These people always rode horseback whenever they were going any -considerable distance. He determined to follow it up and find out for -himself. It was on the forest and it was his business to know about it.</p> -<p>The trail run obliquely upward across the face of the mountain and in -the next draw it ducked into a dense patch of rhododendron. There it was -very evident that the trail had been built for a purpose. It was cut out -clear two feet wide and had been used so long that the stubs had all -been worn down smooth.</p> -<p>While he was examining it he was startled by the sound of approaching -voices, raised high in argument if not in an actual quarrel. At first -the voices were too distant for the words to be distinguished. Scott had -no reason to avoid these people whoever they might be, and it never -occurred to him to hide till he caught a sentence distinctly.</p> -<p>“I tell you, Foster, it won’t do. You were licked and you are done for, -and that is all there is about it.”</p> -<p>Scott did not recognize the voice, but he had every reason to believe -that they were talking about him and he wanted to hear the rest of it. -He slipped back of a big oak tree beside the trail and listened. The -voices came nearer till he could distinguish both sides of the -conversation.</p> -<p>“I know it would work.” It was Foster speaking now, and his voice was -thick and sullen. “Why wouldn’t it work? If I started a fight, the -Morgans would have to fight; and if they fought, the Waits would have to -fight, and then we would clean them up. It’s time they were cleaned up. -They kept us from getting that logging contract and they’ll keep us from -getting anything else. I’m for cleaning them up, I tell you.”</p> -<p>“And I’m telling you that it won’t work,” the other voice answered -curtly.</p> -<p>“Why won’t it?” Foster persisted. “Are you afraid of them?”</p> -<p>“Afraid of them?” the other exclaimed contemptuously. “No, but I am not -fool enough to fall for your scheme. And neither will the others. You’re -down and out. You know it and you think you can get back on your feet by -starting a fight. Well, you can’t.”</p> -<p>Scott peeped around the tree and saw them standing at the entrance of -the tunnel into the rhododendron. One, as he already knew, was Foster -Wait. The other was a short man of medium build, and rather clean-cut -features. He seemed wide awake and altogether different from the other -Waits he had seen. Instinctively he felt from what Hopwood had said that -this man must be Sewall Wait, the brains of the family.</p> -<p>The smaller man was staring silently at Foster with a manner showing -both domination and disgust. Foster shifted uneasily from one foot to -the other and looked uncertainly about him. He was unable to look Sewall -steadily in the eye, but his braggart habit finally came to his rescue.</p> -<p>“Well, it doesn’t matter so much what you think. It is up to me to -decide and if I say fight, you will have to fight,” and he swaggered off -down the trail up which Scott had come.</p> -<p>Sewall looked after him contemptuously for a moment, shrugged his -shoulders, and turned into a faint trail which led straight down the -mountain.</p> -<p>When they were both out of sight Scott came out of his hiding place. He -decided to investigate the trail at some other time, and climbed back to -the ridge. What he had just heard gave him something to think about. He -knew now that there was nothing neutral about him. His sympathies were -all with old Jarred and he hurried home to warn him of his danger.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXVI'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XVI</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>SCOTT HAS AN INTERVIEW WITH SEWALL</span></h2> -<p>The next day Scott was still worrying over what he had overheard on the -mountain the evening before. He did not know what to do. At first he had -determined to carry a warning straight to old Jarred Morgan, but what -good would that do? Jarred could not stop the Waits from starting a -fight even if he tried, and no one had ever heard of his trying.</p> -<p>He wanted to see Hopwood and ask his advice but for once Hopwood did not -show up when he was wanted. He wasted all the forenoon watching for him. -Then he suddenly remembered what Hopwood had said about Sewall being the -real leader of the Waits and determined to go and see him at once. He -had two reasons for going. He wanted to see where he stood on the -question of the feud, and he wanted to know if it was he who was talking -to Foster the day before.</p> -<p>Immediately after lunch he started for the cabin which the agent pointed -out to him as a speck up on the mountainside. On the way up he saw -Foster approaching on his white horse, but Foster evidently did not care -to meet the man who had given him such a thrashing and turned off into -the woods. He had his rifle with him and Scott did not feel comfortable -till he was well past the spot. He half expected to hear a shot and had -an uncomfortable feeling that some one was aiming at a spot between his -shoulder blades.</p> -<p>When he came in sight of the cabin he was surprised at its appearance. -All the Wait cabins he had seen were slovenly and seedy-looking, as -though no one had taken any interest whatever in them since they were -first built. This one was very different. The inevitable picket fence, -which Scott had now learned was to keep out the wandering razorbacks, -was neatly whitewashed. The house was newly painted and the roof had -recently been shingled. There was real sod in the yard and there was a -bed of gorgeous flowers beside the porch.</p> -<p>Scott stopped at the gate and shouted. A middle-aged woman came to the -door and looked surprised at the sight of a stranger. Scott’s surprise -was even greater. Instead of the regulation Mother Hubbard which all the -women in that country seemed to wear, this woman was neatly dressed in a -blue house dress and a white apron. She quickly recovered from her -surprise and smiled pleasantly.</p> -<p>“Won’t you come in?” she said sweetly. “This is one house,” she -explained, “where you don’t have to stand outside and shout.”</p> -<p>Scott thought at first that she was criticizing his manners, but he saw -from the way she said it that she was stating this only as a matter of -pride.</p> -<p>“I am glad to know there is one such place,” Scott said. “I was told -that it is always safer to shout, and they did not tell me that there -were any exceptions. Does Mr. Sewall Wait live here?”</p> -<p>“Yes,” she replied offering him a chair. “Please have a seat and I’ll -call him. It is such a beautiful day that I am sure you will find it -pleasanter here on the porch than inside.”</p> -<p>Scott was a little disappointed for he would have liked to see what the -inside of this house was like, but he thanked her and took the offered -chair. He did not have long to wait. He heard quick footsteps inside the -house, and the man he had seen with Foster stepped briskly out on to the -porch.</p> -<p>Scott arose. “Mr. Wait, my name is Burton, and I am the new supervisor -at Caspar.”</p> -<p>Sewall had sized him up at a single glance and extended his hand. “Glad -to know you, Mr. Burton,” he smiled mischievously. “I have heard of you -before from my cousin Foster.”</p> -<p>Scott blushed like a schoolgirl. “I regret that I was forced into a -quarrel with your cousin, but I assure you, Mr. Wait, that it was not of -my seeking.”</p> -<p>“Pshaw!” Sewall exclaimed heartily. “Don’t let that worry you. Everybody -around here knows Foster, and I for one am glad that you thrashed him.”</p> -<p>“I am glad that the rest of you feel that way,” Scott said. “But it was -a shame that I had to do it when I was trying so hard to be absolutely -neutral. When I heard of this feud, Mr. Wait, I determined not to get -mixed up in it as the others had done. Unfortunately, Mr. Reynolds was -ignorant of both the feud and the regulations, and he made promises to -your family which the law would not permit me to keep. It is illegal to -let a contract without submitting it to bids and requiring a bond. I -admit frankly that I was glad of it, because I did not want to see -either party get it as long as this feud exists.”</p> -<p>“I don’t blame you,” Sewall agreed sadly. “It would just add to the mess -that already exists.”</p> -<p>“That is the reason I came to see you, Mr. Wait,” Scott exclaimed -quickly. “It seems to me a pity for this feud to continue indefinitely. -I heard that you had some influence with your family and I want to see -if we can’t figure out some way to bring it to an end.”</p> -<p>Sewall shook his head sadly. “Did you ever see old Jarred Morgan?” he -asked hopelessly.</p> -<p>“Yes,” Scott said. “I have met him and I admit that he turned my -proposition down cold.”</p> -<p>“That’s the trouble,” Sewall interrupted a little impatiently. “He will -never give up. He and that little vixen of a Vic nurse the feud like an -only child.”</p> -<p>“That’s true enough,” Scott admitted. “But they are in the minority and -I cannot blame them much. I cannot help but admire the old man’s -gameness in a way. I thought possibly the larger party could afford to -make the overture. You are an educated man, Mr. Wait, and you must see -the futility of it.”</p> -<p>“See it? Why, of course, I see it,” Sewall exclaimed bitterly. “I am the -only one of the Waits who had the ambition to drag myself out of the -Middle Ages in which the rest of them are living, and I’d make them drop -that feud to-morrow if I could. Foster is the only one on this side who -wants to keep it up. The rest would drop it quick enough if old Jarred -would let them, but as long as he holds out, their pride will not let -them give it up. And what would be the use of our quitting if Jarred did -not?”</p> -<p>“That’s true,” Scott sighed, “but I have not given up hope if you are -willing. I want to try again to persuade Jarred.”</p> -<p>“Go to it,” Sewall replied gloomily, “but you will not succeed.”</p> -<p>“Maybe not,” Scott said, “but I want to try. Can I count on you to avoid -any new outbreaks while I am trying?”</p> -<p>“There will never be any more outbreaks if I can prevent it, Mr. Burton. -And,” he added confidently, “I can prevent it unless Foster runs wild, -and I doubt if he has the courage for that.”</p> -<p>“Well,” Scott said, as he rose to go, “I certainly shall appreciate your -help, and if I can ever be of any service to you, please let me know.”</p> -<p>He left with the feeling that there was at least one man in the Wait -tribe, and he marveled all the way home to think how this one individual -had raised himself so far above all the others in spite of his -surroundings. It made his own accomplishments seem small.</p> -<p>Then he thought of the lonely old man on the other mountain, just as -good a man and just as intelligent as Sewall. With the leadership in the -hands of two such men there surely ought to be a reasonable way out. He -determined to try once more in spite of the old man’s request not to -mention it.</p> -<p>When he came to the Morgan cabin it was unnecessary to shout. Jarred was -sitting on the front steps and rose to welcome him. He even came part -way to the gate.</p> -<p>“Well,” he said with a smile, “I see you found a way to keep the -contract out of the hands of the feudists even if you had to thrash one -of them to do it.”</p> -<p>Scott laughed at the old man’s humor. “It does seem like a strange way -to keep neutral,” he admitted, “but it was forced on me.”</p> -<p>The smile left Jarred’s face and he looked at Scott gravely. “Yes, I -know it was, and let me give you a warning. Keep your eyes open from now -on. That fellow will shoot you in the back if he gets a chance.”</p> -<p>“I believe he would,” Scott agreed, “but I was talking to one of the -Waits this morning who seemed to be altogether different.”</p> -<p>“Sewall?” Jarred asked quietly.</p> -<p>“Yes, I heard that he was the brains of the party and I went up to see -him.”</p> -<p>Jarred nodded. “Yes, Sewall is different. If all the Waits were like -Sewall there would not be any feud.”</p> -<p>Scott took advantage of the old man’s calm mood. “You asked me not to -say anything more about dropping the feud, but I want to say something -about it just once more if you will let me.”</p> -<p>Old Jarred’s face turned dark with sudden anger and Scott saw that he -was going to be ordered out with little ceremony. But the order did not -come. For a moment there was intense silence. Then the old man spoke, -and his voice was quiet and rather sad.</p> -<p>“I know what you would say, but go ahead.”</p> -<p>Scott was so surprised that he could scarcely find the words now that he -had the opportunity. Then he blurted out his words like a schoolboy.</p> -<p>“It is only this, Mr. Morgan. I could not help thinking when I found out -what sort of men you two were, what a pity it was for you to hold out as -a matter of pride till one of you is killed, and Mr. Wait said that he -would be glad to drop the whole thing if you would. Is there no way out -of it?”</p> -<p>Again Jarred’s face darkened but the wave of temper passed as the other -had done.</p> -<p>“I suppose that is the way it looks to a stranger,” he said slowly. “I -suppose I seem like a stubborn old fool, all pride and nothing to back -it up, keeping the whole country in arms for the fun of it.”</p> -<p>“No, it’s not quite as bad as that,” Scott interrupted quickly.</p> -<p>“Maybe you would not say it in those words,” Jarred replied quietly, -“but it must be about what you think. If any one else had tried to tell -me what you have I would have ordered him off the place, but I like you -and I am deep in your debt. I am going to tell you something that I have -not mentioned before in fifteen years.” He paused as though it were a -great effort to break his prolonged silence. Then he continued with -enforced calm:</p> -<p>“Foster Wait shot my daughter in cold blood just fifteen years ago, shot -her just to keep the feud from dying out. He brought it to life again,” -he concluded grimly. “Now it will live till one of us dies.”</p> -<p>They both sat motionless for a minute staring at the opposite mountain -in silence. The old man was choked with his own suppressed fury. Scott -was awed by the significance this statement gave to the conversation -which he had overheard in the woods the day before. What if this -cold-blooded murderer should shoot Vic this time to keep the feud alive?</p> -<p>He knew that he dared say nothing more to Jarred. In fact, he could -think of little more to say. “Thank you for your confidence in me, Mr. -Morgan,” he said sincerely. “I promise not to mention the matter again.”</p> -<p>Jarred did not seem to hear him. His eyes were still fixed on the -opposite mountain, and when Scott looked back from the turn in the road -he had not moved.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXVII'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XVII</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>HOPWOOD TAKES A TRIP</span></h2> -<p>For the next few days Scott was too busy to think anything of Foster -Wait’s possible revenge. In fact he almost forgot the feud altogether. -The time for the return of bids had come and he had been awarded the -contract. He had wired in his resignation to Washington and was once -more in the thick of a logging job.</p> -<p>He wired to Asheville where he had already made his preliminary -arrangements, and in two days carloads of men, lumber and supplies began -to arrive. He had hired a friend of his old foreman to boss the job, -another Scotchman, MacAndrews, who knew the country and the logging -methods. Camp buildings of rough lumber sprang up like mushrooms in the -valley near the railroad tracks, and the skid roads began to creep -slowly up the mountain in the shallow draws toward the ridge.</p> -<p>The log chute was of particular interest to Scott because he had never -seen one. In that particular place there was a small side valley, larger -than most of the shallow draws, and the log chute was built along the -little stream in the bottom of it. It consisted of two strings of logs -laid side by side on short ties and hewed flat on the inside to form a -rough trough. The logs were peeled and rolled into it far up on the -mountain and gravity brought them down with the speed of a toboggan.</p> -<p>Near the bottom of it they built a contraption which they called a bear -trap to break the speed of the logs before they came out on to the pile. -It was a heavy log, one end of which was raised on a tripod over the -chute while the heavy butt end rested in the chute. Scott never tired of -watching the great logs rushing down at tremendous speed only to butt -this big swinging log high in the air and slide gently out of the chute, -their force all spent.</p> -<p>Every now and then the silence of the valley was broken by a dull boom -as the long saws chewed their way steadily through the great trunks and -the majestic monarchs of the forest plunged headlong down the side of -the mountain over which they had stood guard for centuries. And down the -steep skid roads in the shallow draws the teams were hauling long trains -of logs chained end to end.</p> -<p>Everything was running as smoothly as a watch under MacAndrews’ -efficient management, and Scott would have been serenely happy but for -one thing. He had not seen Hopwood for three weeks. Not since the first -day of his return from Washington. And he had come to rely on Hopwood -more than he realized. There was no one else who could keep him posted. -The agent told him what little he heard, and he visited old man Sanders -one evening. But without Hopwood they were almost as much in the dark as -he was.</p> -<p>One evening Sewall came to see him at the hotel which was considered -neutral ground. He, too, was worrying about Hopwood.</p> -<p>“So you have not seen him, either,” he said, as he was preparing to -leave. “I do not know what to make of it. He never disappeared this way -before. I have searched for him everywhere on this side of the mountain -but no one has seen him. No one has seen him on the other side.”</p> -<p>“Have you any suspicions about it?” Scott asked.</p> -<p>Sewall hesitated a moment. “He seems to have taken quite a shine to you -and I thought maybe you had sent him on an errand somewhere. I wanted to -find out before I said anything else.”</p> -<p>“Now what are you going to do?” Scott asked anxiously.</p> -<p>Again Sewall hesitated.</p> -<p>“This is not mere curiosity on my part,” Scott added. “I look upon -Hopwood as a good friend of mine, and I am as anxious to find him as you -are. If you have any theory and I can do anything to help I want to do -it.”</p> -<p>Sewall still hesitated. “I don’t see how you can help me just now and I -have not told any one my suspicions, but if you are a friend of his I -might as well tell you what I am thinking. I can’t lower your opinion of -Foster much. I have no basis for my suspicions, but I can’t help -wondering if Foster has anything to do with it. He knows that Hopwood -does not like him and he may have got him out of the way to keep him -from working against him. I suppose you know how Hopwood came to be -crazy?”</p> -<p>Scott nodded. “I heard about it,” he said. “But surely Foster would not -do him any farther injury when he is already responsible for that.”</p> -<p>“Foster is desperate now,” Sewall replied, “and he would do anything. By -the way, you want to keep on your guard yourself. He’ll never forgive -you for thrashing him.”</p> -<p>“I am watching him the best I can,” Scott replied. “I wish you would let -me know what you find out about Hopwood, and I’ll send him right to you -if I find him.”</p> -<p>Sewall left and Scott sat pondering over the depths of Foster’s -villainy. It did not seem possible that any one could do such a thing as -that in cold blood, or that a man who had such a reputation could be -left at large. He glanced up impatiently and saw Hopwood sitting on a -chair near the door.</p> -<p>“Why, Hopwood,” Scott exclaimed as he jumped forward joyously to greet -him, “where have you been all this time?”</p> -<p>Hopwood’s face beamed with pleasure as he recognized the sincerity of -Scott’s greeting, and he spread out his hands in his old characteristic -gesture.</p> -<p>“Sewall was just here looking for you. He has searched all that side of -the mountain, and I have been inquiring for you on this side. You’ve had -us worried.”</p> -<p>“I saw him,” Hopwood replied laconically.</p> -<p>“Did you tell him where you had been?”</p> -<p>“No,” Hopwood said, “he did not see me.”</p> -<p>“You should have spoken to him, Hopwood. He is putting in all his time -looking for you.”</p> -<p>“I did not know that he cared that much about me,” Hopwood replied -rather wistfully. “I’ll go right to him.”</p> -<p>“You should,” Scott urged him earnestly, “for he cares a great deal -about you, and so do I. You ought not to scare us that way.”</p> -<p>Hopwood looked a little hurt. “I was trying to do something for you. -That was why I went away.”</p> -<p>“For me!” Scott exclaimed in astonishment. “How is that?”</p> -<p>“Foster will shoot you if he gets a chance,” Hopwood replied -confidently. “I went over to the county seat to try to get him arrested. -If he was in jail it would be safer around here. It will never be safe -while he is here.”</p> -<p>“But you can’t get a man arrested for what you think he is going to do, -Hopwood,” Scott remonstrated.</p> -<p>“No, not for what he <i>has</i> done, either,” Hopwood replied bitterly. “He -killed a little girl here years ago, Jarred’s daughter. It was not a -fight, just plain murder. It was for that I wanted them to arrest him.”</p> -<p>Scott looked at him wonderingly. “What did they say?”</p> -<p>“They laughed at me,” Hopwood replied angrily. “Said they could not -arrest any one on the word of a crazy man.”</p> -<p>“Did you have on your iron hat?” Scott asked, a little amused in spite -of himself.</p> -<p>A rare smile came over Hopwood’s face. “There’s where I made my -mistake,” he replied. “I forgot that I had it on.”</p> -<p>“Why do you wear it, Hopwood?” Scott asked, his curiosity getting the -better of him.</p> -<p>Hopwood looked at him thoughtfully. “I’ll tell you some day. I’m not -quite ready yet. What did Sewall think?” he asked shrewdly.</p> -<p>“He thought that I might have sent you on an errand or that Foster might -have done something to you.”</p> -<p>An angry scowl spread over Hopwood’s brow. It was the first time Scott -had ever seen such an expression there. “Foster will never do anything -to me. If I did not have more sense than they think I have, it would be -I who would do something to Foster.” It did not sound to Scott much like -the speech of a half-wit.</p> -<p>“Well, you’d better go see Sewall now. It will relieve his mind.”</p> -<p>Hopwood started for the door without comment.</p> -<p>Scott had not expected him to go so suddenly and called after him, “I -certainly appreciate what you tried to do for me, Hopwood, and I would -like to see you to-morrow if you get a chance. I have not had any news -since you left.”</p> -<p>It was pathetic to see how grateful Hopwood was for any appreciation. He -stopped a moment in confusion. “I’ll be here,” he blurted with evident -embarrassment and hurried out.</p> -<p>“He may be crazy,” Scott thought, “but if he is, it is a pity that there -are not more crazy people in the world. If it were not for that iron hat -I would not believe it for a minute.”</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXVIII'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XVIII</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>DICK TURNS GENTLEMAN</span></h2> -<p>These repeated warnings against Foster Wait began to get on Scott’s -nerves. And yet there was very little that he could do to protect -himself. He never carried a gun, and felt that he was safer without one. -He was obliged to travel around over the forest continuously inspecting -the logging job, and he could not devote all his time to watching for -Foster Wait. He tried to forget it and go about his business as though -Foster did not exist but he could not help thinking how many -opportunities there were for this man to shoot him down from ambush, and -it made him nervous. If Foster would only do something and show his -hand, he could do something himself but till then he could only wait.</p> -<p>A few days later something happened which put him more than ever on his -guard. He was up near the ridge where they were making up the trains of -logs for the skid teams. There was an enormous red-oak log forty-five -inches in diameter lying in the skid road, and Jimmy Barnes, Scott’s -best teamster, was waiting there with a team of large blacks ready to -take it down. This particular team was untrained and very nervous. They -had been assigned to Jimmy because he was the only teamster in camp who -was willing and able to handle them.</p> -<p>This one big oak log was in itself heavy enough for a load, but they -never hauled a single log for fear it would roll sideways and become -unmanageable. They always fastened a small log on behind to serve as a -rudder. Jimmy was waiting for them to attach the small log. His team was -getting so restless at the delay that he drove them around and hooked -the heavy logging tongs to the end of the oak log. Not that he had any -idea of trying to take it down alone, but just to give the team -something to do and stop them from fretting.</p> -<p>He had hardly straightened up from hooking on the tongs when the bushes -beside the team were burst apart with a great commotion and Foster Wait -jumped down the low bank into the skid road.</p> -<p>The team made one wild lunge which almost jerked Jimmy off his feet and -stopped trembling. The plunge turned the great log sideways on the -slope, and it balanced uncertainly for a second on the stub of a small -bush. Jimmy saw his chance, shouted wildly to the team and slapped them -with the lines. If he could give that log another jerk before it started -to roll he might be able to straighten it out. But the team balked. They -trembled and jerked nervously but they refused to move, in spite of -Jimmy’s efforts.</p> -<p>Slowly the stub was bent down and the six-ton log was free. It rolled -slowly down on to the horses. It had not yet gathered much momentum, but -if it had been a smaller log it would have broken their legs. As it was, -it just shoved their hind legs out from under them and they suddenly -found themselves sitting on the revolving log with the heavy tongs and -the logging chains clanking beside them at every turn of the log.</p> -<p>It was too much for any team to bear. For a few yards they sat on that -grinding log and ran with their front feet. Then with one mighty, -terrified effort they succeeded in jumping clear of the log and plunged -desperately down the skid road. But the tongs still held, and the big -log rolled sullenly from side to side and held them back. Jimmy tried -desperately to stay by his team, but an unexpected roll of the log threw -him into the brush, the lines were jerked out of his hands and the team -was completely out of control. The next instant the log struck a rock, -the tongs pulled loose, and the freed team tore wildly down the steep -skid road at breakneck speed.</p> -<p>Scott took his eyes from the rapidly disappearing team long enough to -take a glance at Foster and he felt sure that he saw a gleam of -satisfaction on his face. When the team was out of sight and Jimmy had -dug himself out of the brush Foster suddenly found himself the object of -half a dozen pairs of angry eyes. He was frightened by the ugly looks of -these men, but he succeeded in holding himself in check long enough to -throw a bluff.</p> -<p>“Some frisky team,” he remarked genially. “Any of you-all see a hound -dog go by this way?”</p> -<p>“I seen <i>one</i>,” MacAndrews exclaimed with an angry glare, “but he ain’t -gone by yet.”</p> -<p>The others snorted their amusement and Foster turned red. “I’ve lost -mine,” he mumbled as he apologetically backed into the brush.</p> -<p>“Better keep him away from here,” Mac shouted after him. “We’ll tie a -can on him pretty quick.”</p> -<p>Before Foster succeeded in breaking through the brush beside the road -his flush had changed to a deadly pallor.</p> -<p>“Who is that cuss?” MacAndrews demanded with a vicious snap of his jaws.</p> -<p>“That is Foster Wait,” Scott said.</p> -<p>“Well, he is hanging around here more than is good for his health. He -scared that team on purpose.”</p> -<p>“I thought so, too,” Scott exclaimed, and he added a little anxiously, -“did you say he had been around here before?”</p> -<p>“Turns up somewhere around the job almost every day. He’ll come once too -often some day. I expect that team is ruined.”</p> -<p>Scott had been so absorbed in Foster Wait that he had forgotten the team -for a moment. Now he found that Jimmy had run down the mountain in -search of them, and he followed as fast as he could run.</p> -<p>Was Foster hanging around the logging operation trying to get a chance -at him or was he up to some other mischief? It did not seem likely that -he was looking for him. Why should he come there where there were so -many people when he could so very easily catch him out in the woods -alone? No, he must be up to something else. And Scott determined that he -would make it his business to find out what it was as soon as possible.</p> -<p>He watched all along the road for traces of the runaway team. At each -turn in the road he expected to find them piled up against a tree or in -the ditch, but although the road was badly scratched up in places as -though they had stumbled or slipped badly they had evidently made it.</p> -<p>Some of the men whom he passed told him that the team had passed safely -at that point and was going strong. When he came in sight of the landing -beside the railroad track he spied the big blacks standing in a little -bunch of men. Jimmy was rubbing them down and trying to soothe their -ruffled nerves.</p> -<p>They were pretty well lathered up from the long run, and one of them had -an ugly cut in his side but otherwise they seemed to be all right. They -had left the road on the turn by the skidway and had run between two -trees. The space had not been wide enough for the double-tree, and the -sudden jerk had thrown one of the horses. Before they could untangle -themselves from the broken harness the men had caught them.</p> -<p>“Better take them to the barn, Jimmy,” Scott said, when he had looked -them over carefully and noticed their violently heaving flanks and -trembling legs.</p> -<p>“I’ll take them over and doctor that cut and the harness,” Jimmy -replied, “but I’ll have them out after lunch. If they had a run like -that every day for a couple of weeks they might get down to where a -fellow could handle them.” It was the second time they had run away with -Jimmy, and he was getting a little peevish. He was afraid that they -might endanger his reputation as the best teamster in the mountains.</p> -<p>Scott knew what was the matter. “Never mind, Jimmy, you are doing fine. -Nobody else could handle them at all. Once you have trained them they -will be the best team on the job.”</p> -<p>“They are that now,” Jimmy replied stoutly. “They have the record for -coming down that mountain, anyway. By the way, did you get that guy who -scared them?”</p> -<p>“No, we hadn’t any proof that he did it on purpose so we let him go.”</p> -<p>“I don’t need any proof,” Jimmy retorted angrily. “That’s the third time -he’s tried it, and if I ever catch him around here again I’m going to -lose a peavey in him.”</p> -<p>Scott did not say anything, but he made a mental note of what Jimmy said -about it being Foster’s third attempt to scare the big black team. It -was the first link in the chain of evidence he intended to collect -against him.</p> -<p>As long as he was down in the valley and it was so near noon Scott -decided to go in to dinner. He was still staying at the hotel, not -because he liked it, but it enabled him to keep in touch with local -gossip through the station agent and he thought it might give him a -better chance to see Hopwood. He was doubtful whether it would be a good -thing for Hopwood to come around camp with that strange iron hat. The -men would undoubtedly tease him, and he did not know how Hopwood would -take it.</p> -<p>As he passed the bunk house he heard some one singing inside. It was not -usual for any one to be in the bunk house at that time of day, unless it -was the bull cook, and it did not sound like him. Scott stepped in and -found one of the swampers sprawled on a bench and crooning a maudlin -song. His first thought was that the man might have been hurt in the -runaway, but certainly some one would have mentioned it if he had.</p> -<p>“Sick, Dick?” Scott asked.</p> -<p>The man looked at him with bleary eyes and arose with a ludicrous -attempt at dignity. Scott saw at once that the man was drunk.</p> -<p>“No, shur,” the man replied with an elaborate bow which almost upset -him.</p> -<p>“Then why aren’t you at work?” Scott asked sharply.</p> -<p>“Becaush I don’t have to work for anybody,” Dick replied with another -deep bow which brought him unexpectedly to his hands and knees on the -bench in front of him. “I’m a gentleman, I am,” he added as he -straightened himself with difficulty.</p> -<p>Scott looked at him with disgust. “When Mac comes in tell him I said to -give you your time,” he exclaimed impatiently and turned to the door.</p> -<p>“Time,” Dick exclaimed. “Give me my time. I’ve got all the time there -is. I’m a gentleman, I tell you.”</p> -<p>Scott turned back with a new thought. “Where did you get that stuff?” he -asked sternly.</p> -<p>Dick winked at him slowly and shook his head. “A gentleman would never -tell,” he replied knowingly.</p> -<p>Scott slammed the door in disgust and left him still explaining his -gentility to the empty room.</p> -<p>Here was another thing he had to investigate.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXIX'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XIX</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>HOPWOOD THROWS AWAY HIS IRON HAT</span></h2> -<p>After dinner Scott stopped at the bunk house to see that his orders were -carried out in regard to Dick. Dick had not delivered the message, but -he did not have to. MacAndrews had spotted him shortly after Scott had -discovered him and had started him down the track before dinner.</p> -<p>Scott decided to devote the afternoon to collecting news from his -friends in the hope that he could find out something which would throw -some light on Foster’s actions. The station agent had heard nothing and -he went up to see old man Sanders. The old man greeted him with his -usual cordiality.</p> -<p>“Come in, come in,” he said. “I hear you have beaten up the ogre and are -succeeding in getting out the timber without his assistance. How did you -do it?”</p> -<p>Scott sat down in the proffered chair a little wearily. “Every one seems -to be more interested in my fighting ability than in anything else. It’s -a fine reputation for a man who started out to be an angel of peace. -Things are going pretty well but there is something about it I do not -like. Foster Wait is hanging around the logging operation all the time, -and I can’t find out what he is up to. Haven’t heard anything about it, -have you?”</p> -<p>Mr. Sanders shook his head. “No,” he replied, “I have not heard anything -at all. Hopwood seems to have deserted me, and Vic has not been down the -mountain since the night you took her home. I can’t get around much -myself and when those two desert me I don’t know much.”</p> -<p>“I have not seen Hopwood for three or four days myself,” Scott said. “Do -you suppose he has disappeared again?”</p> -<p>“It is hard to tell what he is up to. The last time I saw him he was -coming up the road there, but when he saw me he slipped into the woods. -It was not like him. He never avoided me before.”</p> -<p>Scott saw that there was nothing to be learned from Mr. Sanders and he -rose to go. “Maybe he was just in a hurry and did not want to be -delayed. He seems to be very busy on some scheme of his own.”</p> -<p>“Poor fellow!” the old man sighed, “a lot of good his schemes will ever -do anybody, but I suppose it gives him something to do.”</p> -<p>Scott turned back from the gate. “Just what do you think of Hopwood, Mr. -Sanders?”</p> -<p>Mr. Sanders looked at him with a little surprise. “I thought I told you -about him. He has never been right since Foster hit him in the head -years ago.”</p> -<p>“Yes, I know,” Scott interrupted. “You told me about that, but I have -been wondering a good deal lately whether he is really as crazy as -people think.”</p> -<p>Mr. Sanders shook his head sadly. “I wish you were right but there is no -chance. I have known him too long.”</p> -<p>“Well, I think I’ll take a look for him, anyway. I like him, whatever he -is.”</p> -<p>Scott crossed the valley and took the road up the other slope towards -Sewall Wait’s cabin. There were several other cabins along the road and -as Scott approached one of them he saw a man come out of the gate, stand -uncertainly for a minute and go back. The funny part of it was that he -thought he recognized Dick, the man who had been fired from the camp -that morning, but the distance was too great to be sure of it, and when -he passed the cabin there was no one in sight. There seldom was any one -in sight at any of these cabins. The children all ran away and hid at -the approach of a stranger. Sometimes he caught a glimpse of some one, -peeping out of the corner of a window, but that was all. It always made -him feel uneasy to go by one of them.</p> -<p>Sewall was home and glad to see him. Scott told him what Foster had done -in the morning and how he was continually hanging around the camp.</p> -<p>Sewall only shook his head doubtfully. “I don’t know what it is, but he -is up to something. He has avoided me for a month. I don’t like the way -he is chumming with some of the wilder of the young fellows. My boys -don’t like him any better than I do, and they have tried to find out -what he is doing but they can’t. I know his game but I can’t figure out -his next move.”</p> -<p>“Just what is his game?” Scott asked anxiously.</p> -<p>“He knows that the family has pretty much lost confidence in him as a -leader, and he thinks that if he starts some trouble they will have to -support him. That much is clear enough, but I can’t see how he can gain -anything by jimming your logging job.”</p> -<p>“I thought that was probably just revenge for the thrashing I gave him,” -Scott said. “If that’s all it is I am not worried, for he can’t do very -much harm, but I was afraid there might be something else back of it.”</p> -<p>Sewall shook his head. “He is too big a coward to risk very much just -for revenge. To shoot you in the back would be more like his methods. He -beat up poor Hopwood the other day. That’s about his size,” he added -bitterly.</p> -<p>“That is what I really came up for,” Scott exclaimed quickly. “To find -out whether you knew anything about Hopwood. I have not seen him for -three or four days.”</p> -<p>“I saw him this morning. Foster went after him with a club day before -yesterday, and if it had not been for that old iron hat I think he would -have killed him.”</p> -<p>“The big bully. What was it about?” Scott asked eagerly.</p> -<p>“He would not tell me, but I thought from the way he talked that it had -something to do with you.”</p> -<p>“Where is he?” Scott asked. If Hopwood had taken up his fight he wanted -to know what it was so that he could take it up himself.</p> -<p>“He is up in his cabin. I tried to bring him down here, but he would not -come. He’s funny that way. I have never known him to sleep in anybody -else’s cabin. If he can’t get home he sleeps out-of-doors.”</p> -<p>“Where is his cabin?” Scott asked. “I must go and see him.”</p> -<p>Sewall hesitated. “He does not usually like to have people come to his -cabin.”</p> -<p>“But can’t you see that if he got into this trouble on my account I must -see him at once.”</p> -<p>“Well,” Sewall admitted reluctantly. “I reckon he would not mind seeing -you. His cabin is away up there on top of Jones’ Knob. The trail turns -off this road about a half mile above here. It’s not very plain but I -guess you can find it.”</p> -<p>Scott took a hasty leave of Sewall and started in search of the trail. -Sewall told the truth when he said that it was not very plain. Scott -looked for it closely, but he passed it and had to come back in his -search. He finally found a faint trace and followed it up over little -ridges and down into the draws for an hour, always drawing a little -closer to the peak. When he came out in the little flat opening on the -top there was no cabin to be seen. He had never been there before but he -knew that this was Jones’ Knob, and yet there was no cabin.</p> -<p>Scott looked carefully around him and there on the edge of the clearing -he discovered a tiny cabin nestled back in the edge of the spruce -thicket. He hurried over to it and looked eagerly in the open door. -There was a man lying on the bed, but at first Scott did not recognize -him as Hopwood till he saw the iron hat lying on his chest. He appeared -to be asleep.</p> -<p>It was the first time Scott had ever seen Hopwood without his iron hat, -and he took the opportunity to study him carefully. He was amazed at the -high, well-formed forehead and fine features. The blank expression which -he always wore when awake was entirely gone now. He seemed to feel that -some one was staring at him and moved uneasily.</p> -<p>As Scott did not want Hopwood to discover him there and think that he -had been spying on him he knocked softly.</p> -<p>Hopwood sat up suddenly at the first tap and hurriedly put on his iron -hat. He was very much displeased at the intrusion, but when he saw who -it was a radiant smile chased away his frown. Nor did the usual blank -expression take its accustomed place.</p> -<p>“I went up to see if Sewall knew anything about you,” Scott explained, -“and he told me that you were hurt.”</p> -<p>Hopwood’s face beamed when he heard that Scott had come in search of -him, but a shadow of hatred passed over it when his injury was -mentioned. It seemed as though a struggle were going on within him. The -next instant he was as calm as usual.</p> -<p>“I am glad you found me,” he said simply.</p> -<p>“Is it true as Sewall said that you were hurt on my account?”</p> -<p>Hopwood hesitated. “Sewall does not know why I was hurt,” he answered -evasively.</p> -<p>“But can’t you see, Hopwood, that if it had anything to do with me, I -ought to know about it?”</p> -<p>Still Hopwood was silent.</p> -<p>“Foster has been acting queerly,” Scott continued. “He has been hanging -around the camp all the time and this morning he scared one of the teams -and almost ruined it. I am almost sure that he did it on purpose.”</p> -<p>“He did,” Hopwood exclaimed angrily. “That was what my trouble was all -about. He wanted me to set fire to the camps.”</p> -<p>Scott gasped in astonishment. He had rather expected Foster to attempt -some personal revenge but it had never occurred to him that his -cowardice would ever drive him to use such an expedient as that. It was -a move too degraded for Scott to understand.</p> -<p>“When I refused,” Hopwood continued, “he tried to kill me for fear I -would tell on him.”</p> -<p>Scott was silent a moment. “I don’t suppose that will prevent him from -getting somebody else to do it,” he said gloomily.</p> -<p>“I doubt it,” Hopwood said. “If it burns now, everybody will know who -did it.”</p> -<p>“Could we have him arrested for assault?” Scott asked.</p> -<p>Hopwood shook his head. “There were no witnesses except his own family -and they would swear to anything.”</p> -<p>“Did he hurt you badly, Hopwood?”</p> -<p>“No,” Hopwood answered, “not very, but if it had not been for my iron -hat he would have killed me. He hammered me with a heavy club, bruised -my shoulders and cut my face. I’m all right now.”</p> -<p>Scott glanced questioningly at the bed.</p> -<p>“Oh, I don’t have to stay there,” Hopwood replied with a laugh. “But -since he knocked me crazy the first time I am always careful when I get -hit on the head.”</p> -<p>Certainly that did not sound like the talk of a crazy man, but Scott did -not question him.</p> -<p>“Is there anything I can do for you, Hopwood?”</p> -<p>“Oh, no!” Hopwood exclaimed. “I’m all right. Won’t you stay and have -supper with me?” he asked bashfully.</p> -<p>“I wish I could,” Scott said, “but there are some things I have to -attend to down at the camp. I hope I can some day. This is a beautiful -place.”</p> -<p>Hopwood came to the door with him, and they stood for a moment looking -in silence at the beautiful scene before them, or rather below them.</p> -<p>Jones’ Knob was the highest peak in that section, and they looked down -upon a number of smaller mountains. The sun, setting rapidly over the -western ridge, sent ever changing shadows over the eastern slopes. The -evening mists were beginning to fill the valleys like a rising tide, and -even as they watched one of the lower peaks was submerged in the sea of -white.</p> -<p>Scott roused himself. “It will be dark in the valley before I get down -there if I don’t hurry. Take care of yourself, Hopwood.”</p> -<p>“I’ll be down to-morrow,” Hopwood replied confidently, and as Scott -disappeared down the winding trail he threw his iron hat far down the -side of the mountain.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXX'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XX</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>AN ATTEMPT AT ARSON</span></h2> -<p>As Scott had predicted, it grew dark in the valleys long before he -reached home, and he lost the trail on the open ridge. He did not worry -because he knew that if he went downhill he would soon come out on a -road somewhere, but he was impatient of delay. He was anxious to get -back to the camps since he had heard of Foster’s proposal to burn them -up. Maybe he was trying it again now.</p> -<p>It was awkward work going through the dense woods and brush in the dark, -but as he expected it was not so very long before he came out into a -road. He did not recognize the road at first but he knew that he must -turn to the left if he would find the road up which he had come.</p> -<p>About a half a mile further down he came upon an unusually large house -and recognized it instantly as Foster Wait’s. There was a light in the -room downstairs but the shades were drawn down tight. Scott was looking -curiously at the house as he walked by when two silhouettes suddenly -appeared on the white shade. He was not surprised to recognize one of -them as Foster, but when he recognized the other he stopped short and -almost cried aloud. It was Dick.</p> -<p>Ordinarily Scott would have considered it dishonorable to eavesdrop, but -he felt sure that the meeting of these two men had something to do with -him. What better would Foster want than to get hold of a drunken man who -was disgruntled over his treatment at the camp! Maybe that was his -purpose in hanging around there.</p> -<p>Under the circumstances Scott had no scruples about attempting to hear -the conversation. He determined to crawl up to the window and listen. -Hardly had he taken a step in that direction when the loud baying of a -hound told him that it was hopeless. As much as he wanted to hear that -conversation he beat a hasty retreat. And he was none too soon. The echo -of the dog’s bark had hardly died away when he heard the door open and a -voice roughly scolding the hound.</p> -<p>Scott hurried down the road while his imagination ran riot in vain -attempts to solve Foster’s plans. Foster Wait was not the man to take in -a drunken lumberjack unless he intended to make use of him, and Scott -felt sure that those plans had something to do with him. At one time he -thought of going to Sewall for help, but his pride prevented him. He had -protected himself before from smarter men than Foster and he would do it -again.</p> -<p>It was long after supper-time when Scott reached the camp; in fact, many -of the men had already gone to bed. Fortunately the cook was up making -bread, and he went into the cook shack to get a handout. Scott was a -favorite with all the crew, and when the cook saw who it was he denied -himself the grouch he usually enjoyed when any one intruded into his -castle, and hunted up some coffee, ham, doughnuts and cookies—the -unvarying lumberjack handout—as though he enjoyed it.</p> -<p>Scott was absorbed in his own thoughts and let the cook do most of the -talking, but as he was leaving a thought occurred to him. “By the way, -Ben, if Dick should come back here for a handout any time, keep him here -and send for me. I want to talk to him.”</p> -<p>He went out through the bunk house and motioned to Mac to follow him. -When the foreman came out he led him over to a log a little way from the -bunk house and sat down.</p> -<p>“Mac, I have seen and heard a couple of things to-day which have me -pretty badly worried.”</p> -<p>Mac looked at him keenly in the dim starlight. “I’ll bet it’s got -something to do with that guy who scared the team this morning.”</p> -<p>“You guessed right the first time.”</p> -<p>“I knew it,” Mac exclaimed. “I’ve been thinking about him all day. What -is he up to now?”</p> -<p>“Day before yesterday he tried to get a man to set fire to these camps.”</p> -<p>“Set fire to ’em!” Mac almost shouted. “The dirty scoundrel!”</p> -<p>“And to-night,” Scott continued, “I came by his house and happened to -see him talking to the man you fired this morning.”</p> -<p>Mac gave an angry snort of disgust. “That’s a fine howdy-do. A man who -wants to find somebody to burn down the camp and a drunken lumberjack I -fired this morning. Couldn’t find a better combination than that in all -North Carolina.”</p> -<p>“I came right on down here to warn you, because I thought you would want -to put on a guard,” Scott said.</p> -<p>“Put on a guard nothing,” Mac exclaimed contemptuously. “We’ll go up -there and clean them out. The boys would enjoy it and I can have the -crew out in ten minutes.”</p> -<p>“I know the men could do it, Mac, and would probably enjoy it, but it -would stir up too much of a row. If it were just those two it might be -all right, but he is a leader of a big gang and we would have to fight -all the people on that side of the mountain.”</p> -<p>“Well, we can do that, too,” Mac answered doggedly. “Nobody ever burned -my camps yet and nobody’s going to.”</p> -<p>“Just the same,” Scott insisted, “we’re not going to fight that gang. We -might do them up all right, but there would not be much logging done -around here for the next month or two, and I’m here to get those logs -out.”</p> -<p>Mac sat for a while in sullen silence. “Well, what are you going to do -then, let them burn you up?”</p> -<p>“No,” Scott cried impatiently. “I have no more notion of burning up than -you have, and if you cannot find a man here to keep watch at night I’ll -do it myself.”</p> -<p>Again Mac sat for a while in silence. His stubborn Scotch blood was slow -to give in. The last voices had died away in the bunk house and Ben had -finished his work in the cook shack. There was not a sound save an -occasional snore and the scream of an owl far up on the mountain.</p> -<p>Mac finally surrendered as he had known he would from the first, and was -about to speak when a crackling of twigs in the forest behind them -brought them both bolt upright with nerves a-tingle and eyes and ears -straining. They could see nothing, but it was evident that some one was -making his way slowly through the woods towards the bunk house and was -making a great deal of noise doing it.</p> -<p>“If that fellow is sneaking up on us, he must think we’re dead,” Mac -whispered.</p> -<p>There was a loud crash as though some one had fallen over a log. They -heard some mumbling but could not distinguish the words. After a few -seconds of silence the advance on the bunk house began again. A man -passed slowly within ten feet of them and made his slow way to the side -of the bunk house. They could hear him scraping together dead leaves and -brush.</p> -<p>Scott and Mac crept silently up to where they could see what he was -doing, and Scott was not at all surprised to recognize Dick. He had -scraped together a big pile of leaves and heaped them against the side -of the bunk house. Scott gathered himself for a spring as he saw him -fumbling in his pocket for a match to set fire to the leaves.</p> -<p>But instead of taking out a match Dick stuck both hands in his pockets -and swayed back and forth staring curiously at the bunk house.</p> -<p>“Can’t burn that,” he mumbled. “Wouldn’t be gentlemanly to burn the bunk -house with all those men in it. Can’t get ’em out without wakin’ ’em -up.”</p> -<p>He scratched his head in perplexity for a minute and then started toward -the barn. Scott punched Mac in the ribs and they both followed. At the -barn Dick repeated the performance. When his leaves were all piled he -remembered the horses. Again he stopped and scratched his head. “No -gentleman would burn a horse,” he mumbled.</p> -<p>For a moment he stared helplessly about him. Then he seemed to get an -idea. He made his way uncertainly to the door of the barn and -disappeared inside. They watched to see that he did not strike a match, -but did not interfere with him. After a considerable time he stumbled -out leading two sleepy horses. He turned them loose outside and went -back for two more. The first pair, finding themselves free and having no -desire to go to work at that time of the night went back into the barn. -Dick stopped and looked at them wonderingly as he led out two more.</p> -<p>Scott and Mac were almost in hysterics. “Let me handle him,” Scott -whispered.</p> -<p>“Hello, Dick!” Scott exclaimed, suddenly, “what are you doing out here -at this time of night?”</p> -<p>Dick dropped the halters of the horses he was leading and braced himself -as though he expected somebody to jump on him.</p> -<p>“Why don’t you come inside and go to bed? It’s late,” Scott continued.</p> -<p>Dick relaxed when he saw he was in no immediate danger of attack, and -winked at them knowingly. “Didn’t you give me my time?” he asked.</p> -<p>“Give you your time!” Scott exclaimed. “Certainly we gave you your time, -but you were drunk then. You’re sober now. Why don’t you let Foster Wait -get somebody else to do his dirty work for him? No gentleman would want -to burn another man’s buildings.”</p> -<p>Dick looked at him uncertainly for a minute and then straightened up -with painful dignity.</p> -<p>“That’s right,” he said. “That’s what I was going to tell him. No -gentleman would burn a horse.”</p> -<p>“Of course not,” Scott agreed. “Come on in.”</p> -<p>He took Dick by the arm and led him into the bunk house. “There’s your -bunk. Crawl in.”</p> -<p>Dick obeyed without a word but as he rolled over they heard him mumble, -“I’ll show him he can’t give me an ungentlemanly job.”</p> -<p>“Going to call up the sheriff?” Mac asked when they were outside.</p> -<p>“No,” Scott replied emphatically. “Arrest him, and when he gets out -he’ll join Foster again. Put him to work in the morning and he’ll be all -right.”</p> -<p>“Reckon you’re right,” Mac admitted. “Good night.”</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXXI'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XXI</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>SCOTT FINDS THE STILL</span></h2> -<p>Dick went cheerfully to work with the other men in the morning and -seemed to have forgotten all his troubles. Mac put on a guard to watch -the buildings at night and he kept a sharp lookout for Foster in the -daytime, but that gentleman seemed to have realized his danger and kept -out of sight.</p> -<p>Scott had begun to think that Foster must have left the country when he -spied him one day sneaking through the woods a short distance from the -camp. But Foster evidently saw him and immediately disappeared in the -brush.</p> -<p>Everything at the camp was in good working order now. The four felling -crews were hard at it, each one working up a narrow strip from the -valley to the ridge. Their progress was marked by the steady booming of -the falling trees. The skid teams followed each other in an almost -continuous procession with their train of logs, and the big steam jammer -loaded them on to the cars on the siding as fast as they came down.</p> -<p>Over in the main draw other felling crews were cutting logs for the -chute and they were popping down so steadily that the old bear trap was -playing a regular tune.</p> -<p>Scott used to stand on the railroad track or the hotel porch and look up -at the slope with pride. For he had marked that timber for cutting when -he was still supervisor and he had done it well. Instead of the barren, -blackened hillside which the logger usually leaves behind him there was -enough small timber left standing to make it look almost like a virgin -forest. Some one could log there again before so very many years.</p> -<p>It looked as though the feud were practically dead. Sewall could report -no new developments. Hopwood had not shown up with any news for a long -time, not since Scott had visited him in his cabin, but he had sent him -word occasionally by Sewall. Scott thought that he was avoiding the -camps.</p> -<p>One day Scott’s peace was rudely shattered. He had stayed at home that -morning to finish up some correspondence. Just before noon MacAndrews -came bursting into the room. He was so mad that there were tears in his -eyes and he was almost inarticulate. He strode up and down the full -length of the room twice, waving his arms wildly, before he could get a -word out of himself.</p> -<p>Scott was pale with apprehension. “What under the sun is the matter, -Mac?” he asked anxiously.</p> -<p>“Drunk,” Mac shouted savagely. “The whole blame crew’s drunk.”</p> -<p>“Drunk?” Scott echoed in his astonishment, while Mac continued to walk -the floor.</p> -<p>“Dead drunk,” Mac repeated in disgust. “In the middle of the morning, -and not a lick of work to be got out of any of them.”</p> -<p>“Where did they get it?” Scott asked, for both he and Mac had exerted -every possible effort to keep whisky out of the camp.</p> -<p>“Yes,” Mac roared, “that is the question. Where did they get it? I’ve -asked them all and beaten up half of them and not a word have I got out -of any one. Show me the man who brought it in, that’s all I ask.”</p> -<p>Suddenly a new thought occurred to Scott. “Where are they, Mac?”</p> -<p>“Lying all over the woods.”</p> -<p>“I thought so. Round them up into the bunk house, Mac. This is something -that I think I can solve.”</p> -<p>“You mean to say that you are not going to fire them?” Mac shouted in -amazement.</p> -<p>“Certainly not,” Scott answered with decision. “Do you think I want the -whole crew added to Foster Wait’s gang? If I am not mistaken, that was -the purpose in getting them drunk. Round them up in the bunk house where -they can’t get any more, and I’ll see what I can do. Isn’t there any one -sober enough to help you?”</p> -<p>“Ben and the bull cook seem to have been overlooked,” Mac growled.</p> -<p>“They were in camp, that’s the reason. Get them to help you,” Scott -ordered, as he took his hat and started for the door.</p> -<p>Mac, growling like a polar bear, went back to camp to carry out Scott’s -orders. He wanted to fire the whole crew and it went against his grain -to have to act as nursemaid to such a bunch, but orders were orders with -him, and he would carry them out to the letter.</p> -<p>Scott started straight for the opposite mountain growling almost as -savagely as Mac at his own stupidity. Why hadn’t he guessed where Dick -had obtained his whisky? And why hadn’t he guessed why Foster had been -hanging around the camp? And why hadn’t it occurred to him what was at -the end of that well-beaten trail up there on the mountains? He had -certainly been a bonehead, but now he was determined to get to the -bottom of it, and the first thing to do was to follow out that trail.</p> -<p>He was walking rapidly up the road, still grumbling at his stupidity, -when he saw a stranger sitting on a stump beside the road. He had almost -passed him when he realized with a start that it was Hopwood. His iron -hat was replaced with a soft felt such as all the mountaineers wore and -it changed his appearance completely. He laughed when he saw Scott’s -amazement.</p> -<p>“I thought you must be coming this way,” he said in his usual quiet and -rather mysterious manner.</p> -<p>“But what does this mean, Hopwood?” Scott asked in bewilderment. “I -heard that you had taken an oath to wear your iron hat till this feud -was settled.”</p> -<p>Hopwood was serious at once. “I don’t need that old hunk of iron any -more. I’ll explain it to you soon, but I haven’t time now. Where are you -going?”</p> -<p>“I suppose you know what has happened. I am going up there to find that -still. I ought to have done it long ago. I found the trail one day and I -don’t know why it never dawned on me what it was. I had heard there was -a big one somewhere, too. Of course, Foster gave those fellows that -whisky, didn’t he?”</p> -<p>Hopwood nodded. “Yes, and I was just coming down to warn you to keep out -of his way. He has been celebrating his success and he’s crazy. He would -shoot you on sight.”</p> -<p>“Where is he?” Scott asked sullenly. He did not like this business of -running away from a man, and yet he knew it was the only wise thing to -do.</p> -<p>“He was up at the house a little while ago. Keep your eyes open and take -to the woods if you see him. I’ll come down to see you to-morrow if I -don’t have to go away for a day or two.”</p> -<p>“I may have to go away for a day or two myself,” Scott replied. “By the -way, where have you been? I have not seen you for a long time.”</p> -<p>“I’ve been too busy,” Hopwood replied lightly and disappeared in the -woods with a backward smile.</p> -<p>Scott did not understand Hopwood. Some mysterious change seemed to have -come over him. But he did not have time to figure it out now. He was too -anxious to see that still. He had Hopwood’s assurance that it was there, -but he wanted to see it for himself.</p> -<p>He did not know where the trail started so there was nothing for him to -do but to go up on the ridge to the place where the old pig had scared -him so badly. He found the place without any difficulty and looked -around a little nervously to make sure that the old sow was not still on -guard. She was nowhere in sight and he dropped down the slope unmolested -in search of the trail. He was surprised to see how far down it was.</p> -<p>When he came to the tunnel into the laurel he found some fresh tracks -and listened anxiously. He was determined to see the still, but he did -not want any one to see him, partly because he knew that these men would -not hesitate to shoot any one they found spying around their still, and -partly because he did not want any one to know that he had found it.</p> -<p>He could see nothing. He looked down the trail and made a careful survey -of the woods behind him. There was no one there who might cut off his -retreat. Everything seemed safe enough and he cautiously entered the -narrow tunnel. It was longer than he had imagined and the turns in it -gave him an uncomfortable feeling of being shut in. He stopped every two -feet to listen and then crawled slowly forward again. It seemed as -though he would never get to the end of it.</p> -<p>When he did get to the end he saw something that astonished him even -more than the length of the tunnel. He found himself in a small opening -about four rods across, and in the middle of it was a tiny log cabin. He -had covered over half the distance to the cabin when a noise inside made -his heart stand still.</p> -<p>Some one was fumbling with the latch on the inside. After the first -instant of paralysis Scott took in the situation at a glance. If he -tried to return to the tunnel he would be in direct line with the door -and would be in sight for some distance even after he had entered the -tunnel. This all passed through his mind like a flash. His only chance -was to hide around the corner of the cabin. He did not know how many -people there were in there or whether there were windows in the end, or -possibly another door, but it was his best chance. In two jumps he was -around the corner.</p> -<p>The latch clicked up almost the instant he started, and long before he -reached the corner he heard the door swinging open on its rusty hinges. -A glance showed him that there were no windows in that end of the cabin. -He was hidden for the moment unless he had been discovered before he -reached there.</p> -<p>He turned and peeped anxiously through a crack between the ends of the -logs. For what seemed to Scott like an age no one appeared. He looked -nervously behind him and half expected to see a rifle pointing at him -from the other corner of the cabin. But there was no one there.</p> -<p>He was beginning to wonder whether he had really heard anything at all, -or just imagined it, when there was a knock against the log wall that -made him jump almost out of his skin, and Foster Wait staggered out of -the door with a big earthenware jug in one hand and his long rifle in -the other. He swayed uncertainly and took a step or two in Scott’s -direction. Scott shrank back against the wall and prepared to sneak -around the cabin, but Foster changed his course back toward the cabin -door.</p> -<p>He stood there mumbling for an instant and seemed to be talking to some -one inside, but there was no answer. He laboriously turned again and -started for the tunnel. He had considerable trouble in getting the jug -and the rifle both into the opening, but finally succeeded. “They’ll -never do it, they’ll never do it,” he called back angrily over his -shoulder.</p> -<p>Scott was sure then that there was some one else in the cabin. He had -visions of hiding there behind that corner till dark, for the door had -been left open and he would not dare try to sneak out in front of it. He -could still hear Foster fumbling and mumbling his way through the -tunnel, but he had not caught any sound from within.</p> -<p>He placed his ear against the log wall and listened. The gnawing of a -mouse on the other side sounded to him like some one tearing off the -roof, and would have drowned out any other noises there might have been. -The mouse stopped and he held his breath to hear better. There was not a -sound. Minute after minute passed and still no sound. The mouse began -again.</p> -<p>“Better be shot than have that mouse scare me to death,” Scott muttered -to himself, and he determined to have a look in the door. First he went -back to make sure that there was no door in the rear. There was only a -little square window on that side. Slowly he came back to his corner and -listened once more. All was still.</p> -<p>With a glance at the tunnel he crawled cautiously toward the door. Inch -by inch he made his slow advance with his eyes glued on the opening and -his mind made up to jump on any one who might come out—for there was no -chance to escape now.</p> -<p>At the very edge of the door he stopped to listen and peeped cautiously -around the doorframe. Just then a noise behind him brought him to his -feet with a bound, and he saw a man step out of the tunnel.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXXII'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XXII</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>HOPWOOD GETS JARRED’S PROMISE</span></h2> -<p>In the meanwhile MacAndrews had carried out his distasteful duty of -rounding up the crew in the bunk house. Most of them were too far gone -to offer much resistance and went to bed without protest. He left Ben -and the bull cook to keep guard and see that no one escaped and no -outsiders came in. Then he went up in the woods to see if he could catch -any one looking for the men up there.</p> -<p>He made his way to the top of one of the skid roads where he had found a -group of the swampers and road monkeys. If any attempt were made to -bring the men more whisky it would probably be there where the largest -group had been. He selected a well sheltered spot in the edge of the -brush and sat down on a log to wait.</p> -<p>He did not have long to wait. Hardly five minutes had passed when the -bushes on the opposite side of the road were parted cautiously and a -boy’s face peeped out. It was Foster Wait’s son. Not seeing any one, he -came slowly out into the skid road and began peering about. He was -evidently disappointed and very nervous. It was like Foster to send his -son where he was afraid to go himself.</p> -<p>Mac could not wait any longer. He was curious to see what the boy would -do but his desire to get his hands on him was too strong for him. He -tore from his hiding place and made a dive at the boy. But he was no -match for the badly scared boy. He eluded Mac’s grasp and sprang into -the brush like a rabbit. Mac tried to follow him, but he might as well -have tried to follow a weasel in a haystack. He soon gave it up and came -back to see if the boy had left anything behind him. As he expected he -found a large stone jug in the brush where the boy had first appeared.</p> -<p>With a grunt of satisfaction Mac dumped the contents on the ground. -“Enough there to paralyze the whole crew for a week,” he mumbled. He -raised the big jug over his head and was about to smash it on a rock, -but his Scotch thrift stayed his arm and he took the jug back to camp.</p> -<p>Mac felt that he had a victory in capturing the jug, but it would have -been far better if he had stayed in camp, for the boy was on his way -home to tell his father that he had been seen and probably recognized.</p> -<p>Hopwood could easily have caught the boy for Mac. After his meeting with -Scott he had headed straight for the works to see if the men had been -taken in out of harm’s way. He had been close enough to hear the -crashing of the brush and the boy had passed within a few feet of him. -But what would have been the use? They could not do anything with the -boy after they had caught him, and it did not fit into his own plans to -line up openly against his family just yet.</p> -<p>He followed Mac almost to camp to make sure that all the men were in, -but he did not go in himself. He turned into the brush without making -his presence known to Mac at all. A half hour later he turned in at the -gate of Jarred Morgan’s cottage.</p> -<p>When Hopwood entered the cabin old Jarred sprang from his chair with the -agility of a cat.</p> -<p>“You fooled me that time, Hopwood,” he admitted frankly. “It is a long -time since I have seen you without that iron hat. What is the meaning of -it? Is the feud ended, then?” he asked with a wry smile.</p> -<p>Hopwood cast a quick glance around the cabin.</p> -<p>Jarred answered the unspoken question. “She went out to the orchard.”</p> -<p>“No,” Hopwood said soberly, “the feud is not exactly ended, but I think -I am beginning to see the end of it.”</p> -<p>“You think I am going to cash in, do you?”</p> -<p>“I am hoping that it will not end that way,” Hopwood replied earnestly.</p> -<p>“There is only one other way that it can end,” Jarred answered, and his -jaw clenched tight.</p> -<p>“That’s why I have come to see you. Would you drop this feud if Foster -were put out of the way for good?” Hopwood spoke with the tone of a man -exacting an oath.</p> -<p>“I have never made a contract for a murder,” Jarred answered coldly, -“and I am too old to begin it now.”</p> -<p>“Look at me, Jarred,” and Hopwood squared himself around in front of the -old man. “Do I look like a crazy man?”</p> -<p>Jarred’s frown melted into an affectionate smile. “No, Hopwood, your old -iron hat has not fooled me for many years.”</p> -<p>“Then listen to me,” Hopwood replied with a strange tone of confident -authority. “I am no more likely to take the contract for murdering a man -than you are. You have always said that you would not give up the feud -while Foster lived. Now I want to know if you would give it up if he -were otherwise disposed of so that he would never return to this -country?”</p> -<p>Jarred walked to the door and gazed out across at the opposite mountain -in silence. It was five minutes before he turned back to Hopwood and his -face was haggard.</p> -<p>“I could do it, Hopwood,” he said sadly. “I hate to think of that -scoundrel escaping my vengeance, but I could do it, and—would,” he added -after a short struggle. “But I was thinking of Vic. Would she? I have -trained her all her life to hate the Waits, and Vic is a good hater. -Would she give it up, or would she think me a traitor?”</p> -<p>“I think she would give it up,” Hopwood replied confidently.</p> -<p>Jarred turned quietly and faced him. “What makes you think so?” he asked -sharply.</p> -<p>Hopwood blushed like a schoolgirl. He was silent a moment and then -looked Jarred squarely in the eye. “You know what I think of Vic and I -think she likes me. She never seems to think of me as being a Wait, but -if we should marry some day, it would end all thought of the feud.”</p> -<p>Jarred looked at him thoughtfully. “If I thought that could be true, I -would agree to anything,” he said slowly. “I have been wondering lately -what would become of Vic. I am not as strong as I was and I cannot last -forever. She won’t give me any reason, but she says she will never go -back to her father, and I think she means it. She’ll be terribly alone -in the world when I am gone.”</p> -<p>“I know why she won’t go back and I think she is right,” Hopwood replied -with a dark frown. “Would that be satisfactory to you then?” he asked -wistfully.</p> -<p>Jarred placed his hand affectionately on Hopwood’s shoulder. “Hopwood, -as far as I know there are only two men in the world to whom I am -indebted—you and Mr. Burton. You have done me innumerable good services, -and he brought Vic to me the night she fell off her horse. Both of you -want me to give it up. I am going to do it and pay a part of both -debts.”</p> -<p>Hopwood jumped to his feet and grasped the old man’s hand. “Now I can go -about my business. We’ll speak of the other some other time,” he added -with a blush.</p> -<p>“No need to put it off,” Jarred said. “All I ask is that you wait till -Vic has grown up. If she will have you then, there is nothing in all the -world that would please me more.”</p> -<p>Hopwood wrung his hand once more and ran out of the house.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXXIII'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XXIII</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>A CLOSE CALL</span></h2> -<p>When Scott turned his head and saw that man standing just at the end of -the tunnel a great lump rose in his throat and his knees almost gave way -under him. He wanted to run but he could not move. The next instant he -recognized Hopwood and the reaction was so great that he sat down limply -in his tracks and stared helplessly.</p> -<p>“You might as well kill a fellow as scare him to death, Hopwood,” he -exclaimed when he had recovered his breath.</p> -<p>“And you might as well be dead as to be caught here,” Hopwood retorted. -“Did Foster see you? I just met him coming out and he was crazy drunk.”</p> -<p>“Not quite,” Scott replied with a nervous laugh, “but I thought so for a -minute when I saw you,” and he explained to Hopwood what a narrow escape -he had had, and how he was trying to find out whether there really was -any one else in the cabin.</p> -<p>“You should have asked me to bring you here,” Hopwood scolded. “Then you -would not have run such a risk.”</p> -<p>“I’ll let somebody bring me next time,” Scott answered with a grin. “I -have done about all the exploring I want to do around here alone.”</p> -<p>He had completely recovered now, and he got up to have a peek into the -cabin. So strong had been his impression that there was somebody in -there that he now peeped cautiously around the corner of the doorframe. -The little mouse scurried across a rafter and down the opposite wall. -There was no other sign of life.</p> -<p>In the center of the opposite wall of the cabin was a crude clay -fireplace and in it there was a large copper retort shaped like an -immense pear. From the top of it a long goose-neck extended far out into -the room. Three barrels were sitting along the wall at the end of the -cabin. In another barrel, on which there was a tin lid, there was a sack -of corn.</p> -<p>Scott looked the things over curiously. It was the first moonshine -outfit he had ever seen. When his curiosity was satisfied he turned -suddenly to Hopwood. “Will you swear that Foster Wait runs this thing?” -he asked.</p> -<p>Hopwood started at the question. “Why?” he asked in some confusion. -“What are you going to do?”</p> -<p>Scott thought that he had asked too much of Hopwood in asking him to -give evidence against his relative, much as he knew he hated him. But it -was too late to back out now.</p> -<p>“Because I am going to get the United States marshal and have him -arrested,” Scott answered doggedly.</p> -<p>“But that is just what I was going to do myself,” Hopwood answered with -disappointment. “You better let me do it. I know more about it than you -do,” he pleaded.</p> -<p>“No, Hopwood,” Scott replied firmly, “this is my problem and I must -settle it myself.”</p> -<p>“Why do you call it your problem when I have been working on it for -years before you ever heard of it?” Hopwood remonstrated with some -spirit.</p> -<p>Scott saw that line of argument would not work and changed his tactics. -“But, Hopwood, I need you here. There is no use in my staying here if -you go away. I can’t find anything about what is going on if you are not -here to tell me. I could not tell whether Foster was getting ready to -burn down the camps or murder us all. If you stay here while I am away -and will keep MacAndrews posted, he can take care of things all right.”</p> -<p>Hopwood scratched his head doubtfully for a minute and frowned his -disappointment.</p> -<p>“I am not the only one who depends on you, you know,” Scott urged. “All -the people on the other mountain over there depend on you for the news.”</p> -<p>That was the deciding argument. Hopwood had told Jarred that he was -going to put Foster out of the way and he wanted the glory of doing it, -but he had been doing things for other people all his life and he knew -that there was some truth in what Scott said.</p> -<p>“Very well,” he said quietly. “I suppose I’d better stay, but I do wish -that I could go. Some day I am going to do something I want to.”</p> -<p>It seemed so pathetic to any one who knew the history of Hopwood’s life -that Scott was almost tempted to let him go. But he was afraid that -Hopwood might fail in the mission through his limited knowledge of the -world.</p> -<p>“Then if you will take a message to Mac Andrews that I am going and for -him to put the crew to work in the morning as usual, I am going to start -right away,” Scott said resolutely. The sooner he accomplished his -purpose the safer he would be.</p> -<p>Hopwood agreed without a word of protest and led the way into the -tunnel. They were halfway through it when they were startled by a -crashing in the brush ahead. Hopwood crouched and listened an instant -and then motioned frantically for Scott to go back. Scott needed no -second warning. The scare Hopwood had given him had shaken his nerves a -little and he ran back through the tunnel like a rabbit. Hopwood was -close on his heels.</p> -<p>“What is it?” Scott asked anxiously.</p> -<p>“Foster coming back.” Hopwood replied briefly. “Come.” He ran lightly to -the wall of laurel beside the cabin and slowly pushed his way into it. -Scott followed as close as he could but found himself no match for -Hopwood at this game. Hopwood did not go far. He did not have to. A few -feet in that thicket and they were completely hidden, but they could see -out fairly well.</p> -<p>They were scarcely settled in their retreat when Foster lunged out of -the tunnel into the little clearing. He was apparently in a towering -rage and was mumbling savagely to himself. He looked keenly around the -clearing and strode over to the cabin. From the length of time he was -inside he must have made a very thorough examination. When he came out -he was examining the ground for tracks. Scott thanked his stars that he -was wearing tennis shoes.</p> -<p>Whatever the tracks were that Foster was following so carefully they led -him out to the tunnel again. The two refugees breathed more freely when -he was gone, but their troubles were not over. Foster was not making the -noise he did when he came in and they could not tell where he was. Had -he gone away or was he still in the tunnel?</p> -<p>They had waited five minutes and no sound came from the tunnel. The -suspense was beginning to tell on them.</p> -<p>“I’ll sneak out and see,” Scott whispered.</p> -<p>“No,” Hopwood remonstrated. “Let me go. He would shoot you on sight. He -would not shoot me.”</p> -<p>“He tried to kill you a while ago, didn’t he?” Scott asked indignantly. -“He will not shoot me on sight because he is not going to see me, not if -I can help it,” he mumbled to himself.</p> -<p>He did not wait for Hopwood to answer, but slipped as quickly and -silently as he could out into the clearing. He listened intently but -could hear no sound. Slowly he crawled to the tunnel and peeped into it. -There was no one in sight. With one more attempt to pick up a sound he -crawled cautiously in.</p> -<p>It was far more nerve racking than it had been when he crawled in. Then -he did not have much fear of any one being there. Now he knew that some -one had been there and was not at all certain that he had left. His -progress was painfully slow. He listened after every step. He remembered -where he had been hiding a minute before and glanced nervously at the -wall of rhododendron on either side. He was almost tempted to run the -rest of the way and have it over with.</p> -<p>It was well that he did not act on that impulse. A few feet more brought -him in sight of the outer end of the tunnel, and there was Foster -sitting in the entrance with his long rifle across his lap and his eyes -glued on the mountain trail.</p> -<p>Noiselessly Scott backed out of sight and beat a cautious but rapid -retreat. He made his way back to Hopwood in the rhododendron and told -him what he had seen. “Looks as though he was posted there for the -night,” Scott growled.</p> -<p>“He probably is,” Hopwood replied quietly. “I reckon it’s up to us to -get out through the rhododendron.”</p> -<p>That possibility had entirely slipped Scott’s mind. It had never -occurred to him that you could go through that rhododendron. He had been -too fascinated by the tunnel and that mumbling man at the end of it with -a long rifle.</p> -<p>“Then let’s go,” he said.</p> -<p>Hopwood glanced about him to get his bearings and glided through the -dense brush like a snake, and as silently. Scott was put to it to keep -up with him, and try as he would he could not move as silently. It was -slow going at the best, for the course Hopwood had chosen led them down -into a draw and up on to the next ridge.</p> -<p>They had almost reached the edge of the rhododendron when they stumbled -on to a covey of ruffed grouse. The frightened birds went up with a -tremendous rush and crashed through the brush out into the open.</p> -<p>“It is a good thing we did not strike them down by the clearing,” -Hopwood whispered. “We would have had Foster on us in an instant. Here -we are safe because he can’t very well follow us fast enough through -there to do him any good.”</p> -<p>They came out of the brush on to the open ridge and it seemed almost -like coming out of a cave. Scott climbed up on a point of rock to get -his bearings.</p> -<p>Scarcely had he straightened up when his hat flew from his head and the -ping of a rifle sounded from the opposite ridge. Scott fell from the -rock in a heap.</p> -<p>Hopwood ran to him. “Did he get you?” he asked anxiously.</p> -<p>Scott felt his head and there was blood on his fingers. “Must have -grazed me,” he said, “but it does not amount to anything.”</p> -<p>Hopwood examined it and found a half-inch cut in his scalp. “That’s what -those partridges did for us,” Hopwood said. “I am sorry he saw us but it -can’t be helped now. Now, we’ll have to get out of here.”</p> -<p>Scott scrambled to his feet and recovered his punctured hat. He examined -it with a little shudder and started up the ridge.</p> -<p>“Not that way,” Hopwood exclaimed. “That’s the way he will come.”</p> -<p>So Hopwood led the way once more across a brush-filled draw on to the -next ridge. Up this they made their way very cautiously, taking good -care to keep out of sight. They were almost up to the main ridge when -Hopwood hid behind a ledge of rock and motioned Scott to do the same.</p> -<p>“We can see the other ridge from here,” he whispered, “and we better -wait till we see Foster go down. We might meet him up there on the -ridge.”</p> -<p>After what seemed like an age they caught a glimpse of Foster making his -way cautiously down the opposite ridge. He had seen Scott fall from the -ledge and was on his way down to make sure of him. When he was out of -sight they crawled out of their hiding place and struck for the main -ridge.</p> -<p>“I wonder what aroused his suspicion,” Hopwood said.</p> -<p>“I don’t know,” Scott said, “and it does not make any difference. He -can’t head us off now.”</p> -<p>Hopwood shook his head doubtfully. “Maybe not, but I wish he did not -know anything about it. He may guess what we are going to do, and if he -does it may drive him to something desperate.”</p> -<p>They were on the open trail now and stopped for a moment. “Well,” Scott -said, “don’t let’s worry about it. You take the message to Mac and keep -your eye on Foster the best you can. I’ll take the trail over the -mountain.”</p> -<p>They had hardly disappeared when Foster ran back on to the trail. He was -raging like a madman. He knew that something, he could not tell just -what, was in the wind, and it was driving him mad.</p> -<p>A squirrel chattered at him from a big oak tree, and he shot it with an -oath.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXXIV'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XXIV</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>SCOTT GOES AFTER THE MARSHAL</span></h2> -<p>Scott did not lose any time on the trail to the town where the United -States marshal made his headquarters, but it was a long day’s hike and -he had not started much before the middle of the afternoon. Night caught -him while he was still on the mountain trails. The sky was cloudy, and -down in the dense woods it was black as a pocket. He knew that he would -save time and effort by camping out for the night and getting an early -start in the morning. He was not gaining anything by feeling his way -along inch by inch in the dark. He stumbled into an ice-cold trout -stream and gave it up.</p> -<p>The nights were cold there in the mountains, and he was feeling around -for some firewood when he saw a light glimmering through the trees far -down the trail. As his feet were already wet he waded across the stream -and made his way slowly toward the light.</p> -<p>It proved to be a lamp in a small logging camp. It was a comparatively -small cabin with the cook stove and dining table in one end of it. The -walls of the rest of the room were lined with double-decked bunks. Every -one seemed to be in bed except an old woman who was reading at the -dining table. She looked up indifferently when Scott knocked at the -door.</p> -<p>“Good evening,” he said. “Night caught me up here on the trail. Is there -any place here where I can get a bed?”</p> -<p>The woman looked at him suspiciously for a minute and seemed to be -undecided whether or not to call her husband. Then she pointed to an -empty bed in the corner.</p> -<p>“I don’t want to crowd you here,” Scott apologized.</p> -<p>“You won’t bother nobody,” the woman replied without looking up from her -book.</p> -<p>Scott did not think much of his reception. He had not had anything to -eat since morning, but the looks of the place did not encourage him to -ask for anything. It would be better than sleeping out in the cold -without blankets even if he were hungry. He walked over to the bunk and -crawled in without any further ceremony than taking off his shoes.</p> -<p>For a few minutes he lay there and marveled at the tremendous chorus of -snores which seemed to be coming from all parts of the little cabin, but -he soon fell asleep in spite of the music and his hunger. In the morning -Scott was astonished to see the number of people who rolled out of those -bunks—men, women and children. It was evidently a big family, but he was -not sure he had seen them all.</p> -<p>After the way he had been received the night before, Scott intended to -thank them for the lodging and depart without breakfast, but the man -would not have it so.</p> -<p>“Where did you get supper?” he asked.</p> -<p>“I did not have any,” Scott replied a little spitefully.</p> -<p>The man was very much put out and insisted on Scott’s staying to -breakfast. Scott accepted, but before he was through he was sorry he had -not stuck to his original purpose of going away hungry. When the man -learned he was running the logging job on the other side of the -mountain, he became so interested that Scott had a hard time getting -away from him. If he had seen one of the boys slip around the house and -run off up the trail in the direction from which he had come the night -before, he might have been suspicious of so many questions.</p> -<p>It was seven o’clock before he got away from these people and started -for the town. Even at that the marshal was not up when he arrived. He -had recovered from his logging camp breakfast sufficiently to eat -another at the little hotel while he was waiting for the marshal.</p> -<p>Scott had never heard anything but curses for the United States marshal -from the mountaineers and had formed a picture of him that was rudely -shattered when he saw the reality. Instead of the shiftless, cringing -old man he expected to see, he found a keen, alert, energetic man of -about forty-five. He had been a sharpshooter in the Spanish War and was -every inch a man.</p> -<p>“Now what can I do for you?” he asked briskly, when Scott had introduced -himself.</p> -<p>“I am running a logging job on the other side of the mountain,” Scott -explained, “and there is a moonshine still over there that is causing me -all kinds of trouble. I thought maybe I could get you to clean it up for -me. The man who is running it is an incendiary and a murderer as well as -a moonshiner.”</p> -<p>“Sounds as though it might be Foster Wait,” the marshal said with a -frown.</p> -<p>“It is,” Scott said.</p> -<p>“Then you may be able to get him in the courts for arson or murder if -you can produce the evidence, but I am afraid I can’t help you much. I -have put in days looking for that still, have searched every square inch -of his place, but have never been able to find a trace of it. That has -been a sore spot with me for several years.”</p> -<p>“But the still isn’t on his place,” Scott said.</p> -<p>“Do you mean to say that you know where it is?” the marshal cried -eagerly.</p> -<p>“Yes,” Scott said, “I stumbled on to it in the woods one day.”</p> -<p>“But if it is not on his place, can you prove that it is his?” the -marshal asked doubtfully.</p> -<p>“Yes,” Scott said. “I know a man who is familiar with it and will swear -to it.”</p> -<p>“Good!” the marshal exclaimed, jumping enthusiastically to his feet. -“Come on over to the judge and we’ll swear out a warrant for this bird. -Didn’t see anybody on the way over here, did you?”</p> -<p>“Yes,” Scott said. “Foster saw me just before I started,” and he -explained his experience.</p> -<p>“Still that was a long way from here and he may not have guessed where -you were going. See anybody else?”</p> -<p>“I spent the night at a little logging camp up here on the mountain a -ways,” Scott admitted, “but they seemed too dumb to know anything.”</p> -<p>“Yes, they seem dumb enough, but they have notified Foster long ago that -you came this way. I doubt if we can get him now, but I’ll fix that -still for you.”</p> -<p>The judge was as interested as the marshal. “I’d like to get that -fellow,” he exclaimed. “There was a crazy man in a big iron hat down -here some weeks ago who wanted me to arrest him for something he had not -yet done, but we have never been able to get any real charge against him -that any one would support.”</p> -<p>“I’ll support this one,” Scott said doggedly. “He’s the key man in that -feud over there and I am going to put him in the penitentiary if it -takes me all summer.”</p> -<p>“All right, then, let’s go,” the marshal exclaimed. “Did you hoof it -over here?”</p> -<p>“Yes,” Scott said. “I didn’t have a horse handy, and, anyway, I thought -I could make better time over these mountain trails on foot.”</p> -<p>“Well, you couldn’t if you had my horse, but I’ll walk with you this -time. We’ll be off the trail a good deal and I don’t want to be too -conspicuous.”</p> -<p>They went back by another trail which the marshal knew to avoid the -logging camp and any one who might be looking for them. When the marshal -started out anywhere, it was usually well heralded all over the -mountain.</p> -<p>They were walking rapidly up a steep mountain trail when the marshal -suddenly stopped and held up his hand. Scott peeped through the bushes -and was surprised to see that they were in sight of the trail on the -main ridge just above the still. He followed the direction of the -marshal’s pointing finger and saw one of Foster’s boys earnestly -watching the trail Scott had gone down the day before.</p> -<p>They made a detour and crossed the main ridge trail back of the boy. -Just as they started down the slope toward the still, three rifle shots -rang out in the valley below.</p> -<p>“There is something doing down there,” the marshal whispered. “Sounds as -though we ought to have brought the sheriff and a bunch of deputies.”</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXXV'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XXV</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>HOPWOOD SENDS FOSTER A MESSAGE</span></h2> -<p>Hopwood did not go immediately back to camp to carry the message to -MacAndrews. There would be plenty of time for that after dark. He -thought it better to hang around and try to find out something of -Foster’s plans. Instead of going down the trail he hid in the brush and -watched, for he felt sure that Foster would come back that way when he -found he had missed his mark.</p> -<p>He saw Foster come out of the woods and judged his state of mind pretty -well from his looks. When he saw him shoot the squirrel he was convinced -of his savage rage. In such a condition as that he might do anything. He -thought of old Jarred and little Vic up there on the opposite mountain -and wondered what form his rage would take.</p> -<p>Just then Foster could not have told him himself. He only knew that he -had lost his opportunity in a game that he did not very clearly -understand. Why had Scott gone to the still and not touched it? If he -had destroyed the still and the supply of whisky in those barrels he -could have understood that. He would have been trying to protect himself -and his crew. But he had not destroyed it.</p> -<p>Then a new thought occurred to him. Perhaps Scott had gone there to -destroy things but had been interrupted before he had a chance to carry -out his purpose. Perhaps he had destroyed it after he himself had been -there. There had been quite an interval between the time he had looked -in the cabin and the time he discovered Scott on the opposite ridge. He -decided to see; it would at least give him something to do.</p> -<p>He started toward the still again and Hopwood, who had been able almost -to read his thoughts, followed as close as he dared. Foster went -straight to the still and Hopwood waited outside the tunnel. Foster was -not reasoning, he was just grasping wildly for some clue in this blind -puzzle. He hurried to the cabin. Everything was just as he had left it.</p> -<p>He came out and examined the edge of the clearing. He easily found the -trail leading into the laurel. He really did not see the tracks of -Scott’s tennis shoes, but he had not seen Hopwood and mistook his boots -for Scott’s. He realized now that he had trapped Scott in there when he -came back, and ground his teeth in his disappointment. As much puzzled -as ever he paced nervously up and down the little clearing. Then he -determined to go home and send his boy to find out where Scott had gone.</p> -<p>Hopwood followed Foster home and saw the boy start down the road toward -the village. He did not think it likely that Foster would leave the -house again that night and decided to overtake the boy. Possibly he -could pump some of Foster’s plans out of him. He was a favorite with all -the young people on both sides of the mountain. For some reason they -seemed to look on him as an old man, although in reality he was little -older than they were, except in mental capacity.</p> -<p>He kept to the woods till he was out of sight from the house. But he was -so used to the woods that he lost little time by that and once in the -road he soon overtook the boy.</p> -<p>“Hello, Bill!” he called. “Dad out of chewing tobacco?”</p> -<p>“No,” Bill growled. “He ain’t even got that excuse.” The boy did not -seem to be any too pleased with his errand, whatever it was and spoke -sullenly.</p> -<p>“What then?” Hopwood persisted. “Just out for your health?”</p> -<p>“Out for his health, I reckon,” the boy replied spitefully. “He wants me -to find out where that logging boss is.”</p> -<p>“Who, MacAndrews?” Hopwood asked innocently.</p> -<p>“No, Burton,” Bill growled.</p> -<p>“That ought to be easy,” Hopwood said teasingly. “MacAndrews can -probably tell you where he is.”</p> -<p>“Might if I asked him,” the boy replied doggedly, “but MacAndrews isn’t -going to see me.”</p> -<p>“What’s the matter? Been stealing stuff from the cook shack?” Hopwood -went on.</p> -<p>“No,” Bill protested, “but he pretty near caught me this morning when I -went over to take some whisky to the men.”</p> -<p>Hopwood whistled. “No wonder you don’t want him to see you. Then how are -you going to find out?”</p> -<p>“Ask Mr. Roberts, I reckon.”</p> -<p>For some reason or other the station agent had never lost his title with -these people. He was still “Mr.” Roberts after years of residence in -close touch with them.</p> -<p>Hopwood thought a moment. Mr. Roberts might know where Scott had gone, -and if he did, he might tell Bill, and that would not do at all.</p> -<p>“Maybe I can find out for you from MacAndrews,” he volunteered.</p> -<p>Bill cheered up at once. “Gee, will you, Hop? Dad seems to want to know -awful bad, and if I don’t find out I’ll be afraid to go home.”</p> -<p>“All right,” Hopwood agreed. “I’ll ask MacAndrews for you.”</p> -<p>They walked on for a while in silence. Bill’s troubles had been -unexpectedly lifted from his shoulders and Hopwood had found out what he -wanted to know. Foster did not know where Scott had gone, and he would -not find out from this boy if Hopwood could help it. And he thought that -he could.</p> -<p>When they came within sight of the camp it was growing dark, but they -could still see dusky figures moving about.</p> -<p>“I’ll wait here,” Bill said, and the tone of his voice indicated that -nothing on earth could persuade him to go any nearer.</p> -<p>“All right,” Hopwood agreed. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”</p> -<p>He strolled on down to the bunk house. The men had just straggled out -from supper and they were a sorry-looking lot. Some had gone straight to -bed. Others were lolling around a bonfire outside. They looked at -Hopwood curiously but none of them had ever seen him before, and they -were too woebegone even to speak to him.</p> -<p>He was just going into the bunk house when he saw MacAndrews coming out -of the cook shack. Hopwood walked straight up to him and came out -frankly with his message. “Mr. MacAndrews, Mr. Burton asked me to tell -you to put the men to work in the morning as usual and that he would be -back to-morrow.”</p> -<p>Mac had been staring hard at him trying to recognize him in the dusk. -“Who are you?” he asked gruffly.</p> -<p>“My name is Hopwood,” Hopwood replied wisely leaving off his last name.</p> -<p>“Come into the cook shack,” Mac growled, “where I can have a good look -at you. I am suspicious of visitors since this morning.”</p> -<p>Hopwood followed him obediently into the cook shack and looked him -squarely in the eye. “He also told me that I was to keep in touch with -you while he was away and let you know what Foster Wait was doing.”</p> -<p>“He did, did he?” Mac grunted, as he looked him over suspiciously from -head to foot. “Where has he gone?”</p> -<p>Hopwood looked around and lowered his voice. “He went over the mountain -to see the United States marshal.”</p> -<p>Mac grunted his satisfaction but his suspicion was not completely -allayed. “Who the deuce are you?” he asked again. “You look like one of -these pesky mountaineers to me.”</p> -<p>“I am,” Hopwood replied bluntly, “but I am a friend of Mr. Burton’s and -I don’t like Foster Wait as well as you do. That ought to be enough to -satisfy you.”</p> -<p>“Well,” Mac said grudgingly, “if you are a liar you are a mighty slick -one. I’ll take a chance on you, anyway. What’s that man Wait up to now?”</p> -<p>“He was in the house when I came by there a while ago. He’s not likely -to come out again to-night, and I’ll watch him in the morning and let -you know if he’s up to anything.”</p> -<p>“Very well,” Mac replied. “I’ll be watching for you, and—for him,” he -added grimly.</p> -<p>Hopwood started for the door. “Don’t you want a handout?” Mac called -after him hospitably.</p> -<p>As Hopwood had not had anything to eat since morning, he gladly accepted -the invitation. While he was eating Mac plied him with all kinds of -questions about Foster Wait. It was evident that it would be a bad day -for Foster if he ever fell into Mac’s hands.</p> -<p>When he had finished the generous meal which Ben had given him he walked -out to find Bill. The boy was sitting on the stump waiting patiently. -Waiting was one of the best things Bill did.</p> -<p>“You ought to have come with me,” Hopwood said. “The cook gave me a -great handout.”</p> -<p>“You can have mine in there,” Bill replied with a wry face. “What did he -say about his boss?”</p> -<p>“He said he was out on the works to-day and would be back in camp -to-night,” Hopwood lied glibly.</p> -<p>It was enough for the boy to have a satisfactory answer to take home. He -did not question the truth of it. “Thanks,” he said, and started back up -the mountain.</p> -<p>“Wait a while and I’ll walk up with you,” Hopwood volunteered.</p> -<p>“I gotta be getting home,” the boy said. “He’ll be mad enough now -without keeping him waiting any longer.”</p> -<p>Hopwood watched him out of sight in the darkness. “Well, give him that -information,” he mumbled maliciously to himself. “It may quiet his -nerves.”</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXXVI'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XXVI</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>FOSTER REVIVES THE FEUD</span></h2> -<p>No one knew where Hopwood spent the night. He did not accept Mac’s -invitation to stay at the camp, but early morning found him on the road -again on his way up to scout around Foster’s cabin. He had an uneasy -feeling that something would happen if Foster found out where Scott had -gone. He chuckled to think that he probably would not find it out now. -He had sounded out Mr. Roberts and found that he did not know.</p> -<p>It was an hour after he had taken up his watch in a little patch of -woods across the road from the house before he noticed any signs of -life. A thin wisp of smoke curled up from the kitchen chimney. Every now -and then he caught a roar from the rear of the house but no other sound -of voices, a pretty good indication that Foster was in no better mood -than he had been the night before.</p> -<p>A half hour later Bill came running around the house with head ducked -low. Once safe around the corner he dropped down to a slow shuffle. He -had been crying, and he looked longingly up at the mountain before he -turned reluctantly down toward the village.</p> -<p>“He either suspects where Scott has gone or he is planning some new -devilment as soon as he gets back,” Hopwood mused, as he watched Bill -crawling slowly on his snail-like way. “Well, Foster is not likely to go -out till Bill gets back and that can’t be for two hours at the rate he -is moving.”</p> -<p>He had almost decided to go on another errand while he was waiting for -Bill to come back when a movement caught his eye and he saw a barefoot -boy turn in at Foster’s gate. Hopwood groaned with disappointment and -apprehension, for he knew that boy was bearing one of two messages: -either that Scott had passed the logging camp on the way down, or that -the marshal had left town on the way up. Probably it was the former, -because the marshal would know enough to avoid that camp. Hopwood blamed -himself for not having warned Scott to keep away from it. Well, it could -not be helped now.</p> -<p>“There will be something doing pretty soon now,” he thought.</p> -<p>He was not mistaken. The arrival of the boy at the Wait cabin was like -the spark on a fuse running into a powder magazine. Foster roared like a -wounded lion, and everything seemed to be in great commotion. A little -girl darted out of the house and tore down the road toward the village.</p> -<p>“After Bill,” Hopwood mused. “I wonder what the game is?”</p> -<p>The commotion in the back of the house continued.</p> -<p>In a few minutes the girl and Bill came trotting back together. His -reluctance to go had made his recall easy. Hopwood kept a close lookout -now. He did not want anything to escape him, for much might depend on -what he saw now. He saw Bill slip out of the side gate and take a short -cut up the mountain carrying a long rifle.</p> -<p>Hopwood knew what that meant. The boy was to keep watch and fire his -rifle as a signal if he saw the marshal coming that way. That was an old -trick that he had seen worked many times before, but he had never had -the interest in it that he had now. The boy from the logging camp -followed close behind Bill.</p> -<p>These things did not worry Hopwood. A warning of the marshal’s approach -would not do any harm. He had expected that. But when he saw two of the -younger children scamper off on the trails which led to the cabins of -other members of the family, and saw Foster run hurriedly to the barn to -get his white horse, he began to get excited.</p> -<p>If this were Sewall, he would know that he was assembling the clan to -resist the marshal. But he knew that they would not protect Foster, and -Foster knew it himself.</p> -<p>“There is only one way,” Hopwood thought, “that Foster could get the -support of the others, and that would be to start a fight with the -Morgans.” If that were the plan he did not have much time to do it. No -wonder he was in a hurry, with the marshal probably already on his way -over the mountain.</p> -<p>So firmly did this idea take hold of Hopwood that he could stand it no -longer. Foster galloped away furiously in the direction of the village, -and Hopwood, breaking cover like a rabbit, darted across the road and -straight through the woods on a bee line for the opposite mountain.</p> -<p>A little farther down he came into a trail and ducked out of it again -just in time to miss another Wait who was hurrying toward the village. -As soon as the rider was out of sight he broke into the trail again and -ran panting on his way.</p> -<p>He crossed the railroad track below the village and ran gasping up the -steep slope with his eyes glued on a little clearing far up on the -mountainside. Every instant he dreaded that he would see Foster’s white -horse flash across that clearing. Would he be in time?</p> -<p>It was this thought that drove him on and urged him to almost superhuman -efforts, while every breath he drew tore at his lungs like a rusty -knife. Stumbling like a drunken man he tottered out into the road in -front of Jarred’s cabin.</p> -<p>The white horse was nowhere in sight. He had won the race. No matter how -fast they came now Jarred would have his warning. He did not have the -breath to shout at the gate. He ran across the yard and into the cabin -without ceremony.</p> -<p>The minutes dragged slowly by and Hopwood did not come out. An unnatural -silence seemed to surround the place. Not a single bird note broke the -weird stillness, and even the little brook which usually tinkled so -musically over the stones by the house seemed to be gliding softly now. -Only the ticking of the old cuckoo clock within the cabin boomed out -like the blows of a hammer.</p> -<p>The slow minutes passed: ten, fifteen, twenty, and Hopwood came slowly -out. He looked weary and disheartened. Even the sound of a rifle shot -from the valley below did not arouse him. He stood with his arms folded -on top of the fence and looked listlessly across at the opposite -mountain. There was another shot fired in the valley and a scattering -volley answered it, but he did not seem to hear them.</p> -<p>Vic appeared in the doorway and called to him. “You must find out what -that is, Hopwood. Are they fighting us or the logging camp?”</p> -<p>Hopwood started as though he had been awakened from a dream. With a wave -of the hand to Vic he vaulted the fence and ran down the slope. When he -came to the railroad track he hesitated a moment and then turned up the -track toward the village.</p> -<p>He found Mr. Roberts sitting on the end of the station platform watching -the fight as calmly as though watching a game from a grand stand.</p> -<p>“Just what happened?” Hopwood asked.</p> -<p>Shots were still being fired spasmodically from both sides of the -street.</p> -<p>“Foster rode up to the store like a madman and shot across at Morgan’s -wife without any warning,” Mr. Roberts replied, without taking his eyes -off the fight.</p> -<p>“Did he hit her?” Hopwood asked with a hard unnatural ring in his voice.</p> -<p>“Couldn’t miss her, just across the street,” Mr. Roberts replied.</p> -<p>A cold steely glint came into Hopwood’s soft blue eyes and his jaw set -tight. “Kill her?” he persisted.</p> -<p>“Couldn’t tell,” Mr. Roberts replied calmly. “They hauled her inside.”</p> -<p>Hopwood did not wait to hear any more. With a growl of rage he jumped -across the railroad track and ran up the western slope with all the -speed his tired legs could muster.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXXVII'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XXVII</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>SCOTT ARRIVES AT THE VILLAGE</span></h2> -<p>Scott and the marshal started down the mountain in the direction of the -firing. “Where is that still?” the marshal asked. “We might as well have -a look at it if it is up this way.”</p> -<p>“It won’t be much out of the way,” Scott said. “We are about there now.” -He was so anxious to get to the village that he would not have consented -to stop at all except that he thought he might find Hopwood at the -still, and he was crazy to know what was going on. He led the marshal -down the mountain at a run.</p> -<p>“Here’s the trail to it,” he exclaimed.</p> -<p>When they came to the tunnel the marshal slipped ahead with his revolver -in his hand. “Let me pack this gun in there ahead,” he whispered. “Not -likely to be any one there, but if there should be, he might be -peevish.”</p> -<p>They made their way cautiously through the rhododendron and paused at -the other end to watch and listen. There was no evidence of any one and -the marshal ran quickly across the clearing to the cabin. Scott was -close at his heels. There was no one there.</p> -<p>“This is a fine outfit,” the marshal exclaimed enthusiastically. “Big -enough to supply the county. No wonder I could not find it. They are a -foxy bunch. Put it on government land, too.”</p> -<p>One glance had shown Scott that Hopwood was not there and he was anxious -to be off. “Come on,” he exclaimed, “you can destroy this thing any -time. I’ve got to see what is happening down there. That may be my crew -fighting.”</p> -<p>“Just the same, I am going to fix this thing before I go,” the marshal -replied coolly. “Any one who is slick enough to put this thing in here -might be pretty clever in getting it out. I’ll take no chances.”</p> -<p>With a few blows of his hatchet he cut the copper retort to ribbons and -knocked the heads out of the barrels. “Now they can have it,” he cried -with a chuckle of satisfaction.</p> -<p>Scott was already halfway out of the tunnel. As soon as he emerged on -the open trail he saw Hopwood coming, exhausted but determined.</p> -<p>“What is going on, Hopwood?” he called anxiously.</p> -<p>“They’re at it,” Hopwood panted as he sank on a log.</p> -<p>“What started it?” Scott asked.</p> -<p>“The boy from the logging camp reported that you had gone over the -mountain,” Hopwood gasped. “And Foster shot Vic’s mother in cold blood.”</p> -<p>Scott was horror struck. “Why, that is what Sewall predicted,” he said, -“but I didn’t believe it possible.”</p> -<p>“It was murder,” Hopwood replied coldly.</p> -<p>“Jarred isn’t hurt, is he?” Scott persisted.</p> -<p>Hopwood’s answer was so low that Scott had to lean over him to hear it -at all. A look of keen disappointment passed over Scott’s face.</p> -<p>“How did that happen?” he asked.</p> -<p>Again Hopwood’s answer was so low that he could hardly hear it.</p> -<p>Scott straightened suddenly. His anger was choking him, and the hot -blood leaping through his veins almost blinded him.</p> -<p>Hopwood, still panting from his exertions, jumped from the log and -started straight down through the woods.</p> -<p>“Where are you going?” Scott called sharply.</p> -<p>“Down to fight on the side of the Morgans,” he answered without even -turning his head.</p> -<p>“So am I,” Scott exclaimed savagely, “and so is all my logging crew -unless this feud is dropped now and forever.”</p> -<p>“What’s going on?” the marshal asked.</p> -<p>But Scott did not seem to hear him. He strode down the mountain slope in -the direction Hopwood had taken. His eyes were searching the woods for -any signs of the Waits, and his ears were straining to catch any -significant sounds from the valley below, but his mind was far away in -the little cabin up on the opposite mountain.</p> -<p>When they came to a little clearing on a knoll which overlooked the -village they stopped to reconnoiter. At first they could see nothing out -of the ordinary. The village seemed as quiet and deserted as ever. Mr. -Roberts was still sitting calmly on the end of the station platform and -two women were peeping from an upstairs window of the hotel.</p> -<p>They were almost directly in the rear of the Waits’ position, and -gradually they began to distinguish them. First, one here, crouching -behind the corner of the store, then another one behind the lumber pile. -Twenty-two they counted and all armed.</p> -<p>One man seemed to be holding himself in reserve for an emergency. He -stood apart from the others, his arms folded across the end of the -barrel of his long rifle, and his chin resting on his arms. He did not -seem to be taking any active part. He must have been in plain sight of -both parties but none of them seemed to molest him.</p> -<p>Every now and then the vicious ping of a high-power rifle rang out from -the Morgan store and was answered by a scattering volley from the men in -hiding before them.</p> -<p>They saw Hopwood slip across the railroad back of the hotel and glide -around through the woods to the back of the Morgan store.</p> -<p>The marshal had been examining the scene minutely through his field -glasses. Suddenly he grasped Scott’s elbow.</p> -<p>“There’s my man,” he whispered.</p> -<p>Scott followed the direction of the pointing finger. Farthest away from -the store and securely hidden behind a long pile of cordwood was Foster -Wait.</p> -<p>“The farthest away and the best hidden of them all,” Scott sneered. “The -coward!”</p> -<p>Over in the other direction, opposite the hotel, on a knoll very similar -to their own, was the whole logging crew.</p> -<p>“I’m going over there to give a message to my foreman,” Scott said. -“Then I am going down to put an end to this row.”</p> -<p>“Better keep out of it,” the marshal advised. “Let the sheriff take care -of it. The peacemaker always gets the worst of it.”</p> -<p>But Scott shook his head and started toward his crew. Mac had seen him -coming and met him halfway.</p> -<p>“Some show,” Mac exclaimed cheerfully. “They have not bothered us yet -and I reckon maybe they know enough to let us alone.”</p> -<p>“I am going down there to try to stop it, Mac. If anything interferes -with me it will be these fellows on this side. If they do, clean them -up.”</p> -<p>“We’ll do that,” Mac exclaimed enthusiastically. “But why not let us -clean them up first? It would be safer?”</p> -<p>“No,” Scott replied firmly, “that would not do. I don’t think they will -bother me and I don’t want you to mix in the thing at all unless they -do.”</p> -<p>A fresh burst of shots rattled around the buildings on both sides of the -street. “They haven’t hit anybody yet,” Mac growled sarcastically, “but -they may hurt somebody if they keep on.”</p> -<p>When Scott got back to the knoll, the marshal was nowhere in sight. He -did not stop to look for him. He had made up his mind what he was going -to do and he was anxious to be about it. He picked his way diagonally -across the slope, back of the Waits’ position to where the station agent -was sitting on the platform.</p> -<p>He talked earnestly to Mr. Roberts for a moment and started up the road -toward the village.</p> -<p>“Better keep out of it,” Mr. Roberts called after him pleadingly.</p> -<p>But Scott neither turned back nor answered him.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXXVIII'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XXVIII</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>THE END OF THE FEUD</span></h2> -<p>Scott walked rapidly up the road toward the store. He felt a shiver run -up his back as he passed the woodpile where Foster was hiding, but he -held his course steadily and looked neither to the right nor the left.</p> -<p>Astonishment and wonder held the men on both sides motionless. It seemed -to Scott as though he were walking all alone through a great desert with -a row of mines on either side of him. He could almost hear the -sputtering of the fuses. He had never felt so lonely in all his life.</p> -<p>He heard a voice on the Morgan side shouting to him to keep back, and he -recognized it as Hopwood’s.</p> -<p>Only when he came to a spot squarely between the two stores did he stop. -There he held his hand solemnly up over his head and called out in a -voice that all could hear.</p> -<p>“I have a message for all of you and I call upon you all as men to come -out here and listen to it.”</p> -<p>He called in a loud voice, but so tense was the stillness that a whisper -could have been heard as well. And the silence continued after he had -spoken. He did not repeat it but stood there with hand uplifted. The -suspense was nerve racking. At last it was broken.</p> -<p>“Say what you have to say and get out of the road,” called a sullen -voice from the Morgan store.</p> -<p>“Very well,” Scott agreed solemnly, “if it must be that way, listen.”</p> -<p>He saw Sewall standing up there apart from the others and rightly -guessed that he was not in sympathy with what was being done. He glanced -at him occasionally for reassurance, for he did not feel at all sure -that his plan would be a success.</p> -<p>“If you knew why you were fighting here to-day, you would never have -come,” he began.</p> -<p>“If that’s all you have to say, we’ve heard enough,” the same sullen -voice interrupted.</p> -<p>Scott paid no attention to it, but continued in an impressive voice. -“You think you are fighting for the old feud which has kept you -neighbors enemies for forty years, but you are not. You are fighting -because there is a coward in your midst who felt his influence slipping -and shot an innocent woman to make it appear that you were being -attacked. It worked, and you are fighting here to protect a murderer.”</p> -<p>There was a dead silence as they strove to realize the significance of -what he had said. He had seen Sewall bring his rifle into a more -convenient position when he began to talk. Now he suddenly threw it up -to his shoulder and aimed at the woodpile.</p> -<p>There were two shots almost at the same instant, and a bullet plowed up -the ground at Scott’s feet and covered him with dust.</p> -<p>“There is the proof of what I say,” Scott shouted. “He is attempting -another murder to cover up the first.” He pointed scornfully toward the -woodpile and was as much astonished as the others at what he saw.</p> -<p>Foster was crouching on the ground with his hands held high above his -head while the marshal stood over him with his smoking revolver in his -hand. It was his shot that had spoiled Foster’s aim just in the nick of -time. Sewall had been too late.</p> -<p>There was a murmur of resentment among the Waits at the sight of the -marshal, whom they all regarded as their common enemy, arresting one of -their members in their very midst. Scott saw that he was in danger of -losing out.</p> -<p>“I brought the marshal here after that man because I could not get the -sheriff. He is wanted for the cold-blooded murder of two women. Do you -want to support such a man as that?”</p> -<p>There was silence again. Scott saw that he had them with him.</p> -<p>“Let me talk to your real leaders,” he shouted. “Come down here, -Sewall.”</p> -<p>Sewall walked slowly forward, and men on both sides stepped out of their -hiding places to see him come, and crowded slowly in around the two.</p> -<p>“Where is Jarred Morgan?” Scott asked, when Sewall stepped out into the -road.</p> -<p>“Probably in the store there,” one of the Waits suggested.</p> -<p>“He is not,” Scott replied loudly enough for all to hear. “He is up at -his cabin dying of pneumonia.”</p> -<p>There was a murmur of surprise and incredulity. Sewall’s face showed -genuine regret.</p> -<p>“And do you want to know what gave him the pneumonia?” Scott persisted, -addressing himself directly to Sewall. “Because he jumped into the pool -to save your child from drowning.”</p> -<p>“What?” Sewall gasped. “Did Jarred do that? She said it was a strange -girl.”</p> -<p>“Vic took care of her,” Scott replied quietly, “but Jarred got her out -and this morning he was dying as the result of it.”</p> -<p>There was a hushed silence over the whole village.</p> -<p>Scott was determined to hold his advantage. “Jarred promised that he -would drop the feud if Foster was out of the way, and Foster is going to -a place from which he will not return. Are you willing to drop it?”</p> -<p>“I am more than willing,” Sewall said, “and have been for some time. -Certainly, I personally can never fight with Jarred’s people again,” and -his voice shook with emotion.</p> -<p>“How about the rest of you?” Scott asked looking at the rest of the -assembled family.</p> -<p>They all agreed eagerly. They were afraid of Jarred and if he would stop -fighting they were willing enough.</p> -<p>“Are you willing to stand by Jarred’s promise?” Scott asked, turning to -the Morgans.</p> -<p>They were as eager as the Waits.</p> -<p>“Then shake hands on it,” Scott said, and he pulled Sewall and Ben -Morgan towards each other.</p> -<p>They shook hands solemnly and in five minutes both families had almost -forgotten that a feud had ever existed. They had all completely -forgotten Foster.</p> -<p>Scott suddenly remembered him and hurried over to the woodpile, but the -marshal had taken advantage of his opportunity and spirited him away.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chXXIX'><span style='font-size:1.2em'>CHAPTER XXIX</span><br /> <span style='font-size:0.9em'>JARRED AND SEWALL MEET</span></h2> -<p>As soon as Scott was sure that the marshal had made good his get-away -with Foster he looked for Hopwood, but Hopwood had also disappeared. He -could see nothing further that he could do there and turned down the -road away from the village. He had not gone far when he heard some one -walking fast behind him. It was Sewall.</p> -<p>“Where are you going?” Sewall asked.</p> -<p>“Up to Jarred’s” Scott replied.</p> -<p>“So am I,” Sewall said.</p> -<p>They walked in silence, each occupied with his own thoughts. Scott was -wondering where the marshal had gone with his prisoner and whether they -would have any trouble in convicting him. Sewall was deeply moved by his -walk up that road which was to him almost like a foreign country. His -thoughts finally took the form of words.</p> -<p>“Do you know that I have been over this road only once before in thirty -years, and that at night?”</p> -<p>Scott looked at him in astonishment. “Do you know Jarred?” he asked -suddenly.</p> -<p>“Only by sight. I’ve seen him in the village once or twice, and once -three years ago when he came up on our mountain,” Sewall said -thoughtfully.</p> -<p>“What did they have, a conference?” Scott asked.</p> -<p>“No, one of Foster’s boys threw a stone across the street and hurt Vic. -Jarred rode straight up here after him and horsewhipped him in his own -yard.”</p> -<p>“I should not think he would have dared,” Scott exclaimed. “Where was -Foster?”</p> -<p>“In the house,” Sewall chuckled, “and he stayed there. Jarred did not -even look to see if he was in sight. He just licked the kid, turned his -back on the house and rode away. From all I have heard, Jarred was never -much afraid of anything.”</p> -<p>“I have always admired him,” Scott said.</p> -<p>“So have I,” Sewall confessed simply.</p> -<p>Again they walked in silence. When they came to Jarred’s gate, Scott -called softly and Hopwood appeared in the doorway.</p> -<p>“How did you get here?” Scott asked in surprise. He never got used to -Hopwood’s unexpected movements.</p> -<p>“I hurried up here to tell Vic that her mother was not seriously hurt,” -Hopwood exclaimed.</p> -<p>“How is Jarred?” Scott asked anxiously.</p> -<p>Hopwood’s face brightened. “He seems much better. I believe he is going -to get well.”</p> -<p>“Can we see him?” Scott asked eagerly.</p> -<p>“If you don’t make him talk too much,” Hopwood consented reluctantly. He -felt that it would be better not, but he could not refuse this man who -had successfully accomplished what he had been trying in vain for years -to do. He stepped aside to let them enter.</p> -<p>They walked into the little cabin stepping softly. Vic was hovering -protectingly around the bed. The old man was very weak, but his pride -kept him from looking ill even now. A pleased light came into his eyes -when he saw Scott. He started slightly at the unexpected sight of -Sewall. Scott noticed it.</p> -<p>“Sewall could not wait for Foster and the marshal to get out of sight to -come up to thank you for saving his child,” he explained.</p> -<p>Sewall knelt appealingly beside the bed.</p> -<p>Jarred smiled and feebly stretched out his hand. “I can easily be -friends with Sewall,” he whispered.</p> -<p>“I have always been your friend,” Sewall replied earnestly, “and I am -coming to see you often if I may.”</p> -<p>“With Foster in the penitentiary and you for my friend I can die in -peace, but”—Jarred added with a faint smile—“I am not going to do it -yet.”</p> -<p>At a sign from Vic they left him as softly as they had come. Hopwood was -waiting for them outside the door.</p> -<p>“He is lots better,” Hopwood exclaimed, “but Vic wants to keep him -quiet.”</p> -<p>“She is right,” Scott said. “Are you going down with us?”</p> -<p>Hopwood blushed a little. “No, I am going to stay here and see if I can -be of any help to Vic.”</p> -<p>“Do you want me to send for a doctor?” Scott asked. “I would be glad to -get one from Asheville for Jarred.”</p> -<p>Hopwood shook his head. “Jarred would not like it.”</p> -<p>So they left Hopwood standing contentedly on call beside the door, and -started slowly for the village.</p> -<p>“Tell me,” Scott exclaimed, “why did Hopwood wear that iron hat? I have -been wondering about it ever since I came and he has always told me he -would tell me later.”</p> -<p>“He wanted to make his family think he was crazy,” Sewall explained. -“Did he fool you?”</p> -<p>“At first,” Scott admitted, “but not for long.”</p> -<p>Sewall laughed. “He has more brains than anybody else in the family. He -was crazy for a while after Foster struck him that time, and he began -wearing the iron hat for protection. He soon got all right, but he was -shrewd enough to see that he could hear a lot more and go wherever he -pleased if they thought he was crazy.</p> -<p>“Of course you know how crazy he is about Vic and Jarred. Well, he kept -right on pretending to be crazy, and he did it so well that he fooled -them all completely. All the time, he was working tooth and nail to help -Jarred.”</p> -<p>“And you knew that all the time?” Scott asked.</p> -<p>“Certainly. Jarred was in the right, and Foster has been wrong always,” -Sewall exclaimed.</p> -<p>As they approached old man Sanders’ cabin they saw him waiting for them -at the gate.</p> -<p>“How is Jarred?” he called, as soon as they were near enough to hear -him.</p> -<p>“Lots better,” Scott said.</p> -<p>“And is it true that Foster has gone to the penitentiary for life?” he -asked eagerly.</p> -<p>“He’s gone to the penitentiary, all right,” Scott said, “and we hope it -will be for life.”</p> -<p>“Good!” the old man exclaimed enthusiastically. “I congratulate you, -young man, on the way you kept neutral,” he added with a grin.</p> -<p>“Well, it worked, anyway,” Scott retorted. He had noticed that Mr. -Sanders had hardly spoken to Sewall, and he had thought that he would be -surprised to see him.</p> -<p>“You surely know Mr. Sewall Wait, don’t you, Mr. Sanders?” he asked.</p> -<p>“Reckon I do,” Mr. Sanders laughed. “He licked me at cribbage here last -night.”</p> -<p>Scott looked at Sewall indignantly. “I thought you told me that you had -not been up this road for thirty years.”</p> -<p>“That was above here,” Sewall laughed. “I sneak over here in the evening -every once in a while to play cribbage with Mr. Sanders.”</p> -<p>Scott was beginning to see what a hollow thing that feud really was, and -yet it had killed several people, wounded many more and ruined the -community for years.</p> -<p>“Did Jarred know it?” he asked.</p> -<p>Sewall nodded. “Sure. I have sat on the fence there and talked over the -feud with Vic by the hour.”</p> -<p>“Do you think Vic will give it up?” he asked again.</p> -<p>“Sure she will,” Sewall replied confidently. “She’ll marry Hopwood some -day and forget there ever was a feud unless Foster comes back. She’ll -never forgive him, and she’ll never forgive her father.”</p> -<p>They left Mr. Sanders and went down to the logging camp. There Scott -gave directions to MacAndrews to go on with the logging in the morning -as usual, and told him that if he were short of help he could hire -anybody around there.</p> -<p>At the station he sent a telegram to his old boss in the forest service:</p> -<p>“Feud ended. Place now foolproof for supervisors.”</p> -<p>And when Mr. Roberts came home to supper that evening he brought the -reply:</p> -<p>“Good work. We are going to appoint you the next fool.”</p> -<p>But Scott did not want that job till he had finished the one he had. He -was deaf to the letters from Washington. A few days later, Mr. Johns -arrived on the scene to plead with him in person. He listened with -interest to Scott’s account of the struggle.</p> -<p>“Well,” he said admiringly when Scott had finished his story, “you -certainly turned the trick, all right. You pulled the Service out of a -nasty hole and everybody appreciates it. Now we want you back as -supervisor. It ought to be a peaceful enough job now, thanks to you.”</p> -<p>But Scott still shook his head. “Not till the last log is in here,” he -said, waving his hand toward the mountain slope.</p> -<p>“Pshaw,” Mr. Johns exclaimed impatiently, “anybody can run this logging -outfit now.”</p> -<p>“That’s just it,” Scott replied quietly. “It has been hard enough work -to get it to run smoothly, and now I am going to have the benefit of it. -I am going to make a bunch of money off that contract, low as the bid -was. When it is all over I will take back the job if you want me to; but -I would rather go back to my old horse in Arizona.”</p> -<p>“Well, we might even arrange that in time,” Mr. Johns said, “or maybe we -could bring the horse here.”</p> -<p>“That would be better,” came a quiet voice behind them, and they both -started to find Hopwood looking at Scott reproachfully.</p> -<p>“You are right, Hopwood,” Scott replied gently. “I had forgotten you. I -will at least come back when you and Vic are married. Let’s all go up to -see Jarred and tell him the news.”</p> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;'> -</div> -</div> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SCOTT BURTON IN THE BLUE RIDGE***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 61908-h.htm or 61908-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/1/9/0/61908">http://www.gutenberg.org/6/1/9/0/61908</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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