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Laa diagrammaa suivants iiluatrant la m*thod*. 1 2 3 .SiY-'.-ysaafifffp-iWi MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) I.I 1^ 150 12.8 140 1^ '""^ 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 A APPLIED IM/1GE ^^ 1653 EasI Mo,n Street S^S Roclnerter, rjew York U609 U^ •-aa (716) 482 - 0300 - Ptione ^S (^'6) 288 - 5989 - Fax ft^Ct'S.-S* r^.-'-^'^K^^M ^^^H ■ B^^' ^4^^^B ■ '^^f'^ ^- •^•^-^■b^H j^^H ■ r*- ^^^ ^^^^^ ■Gi;>'' . =; <^y .'■■ ■ r.^';. , ^* r Be^^HI ^ .' '■• "■'- . = ■-'^i-i^ ■ .--■ ':;: - —-r-r- -» -r. ^jp^rXf9'-^>^Jft..--v-Y:t>^rrj - r:^i- ..Ifi,,".'' -ft. -4^r:-Y»-: \^MS»e5B. • 1 -''-■^^-<' -^.X^^^14A^^ -.aca:-je5ar-::r3rr .,:^^^- ] T .~ V J^ & ^Z^jO^ ^ M THE BLAZED TRAIL BY STEWART EDWARD WHITE "«l» McLeoa & Allen PuW ns IS 4 nnterrd according to Act of Parliament of Canada in the yeai 190a by Geo. N. Moraiig & Co., Limited, at the Department of Agriculture. McLEOO & ALLBN Toronto Proprietors of th* Canadian Copyright. '^■:^ -^i 4 i I' To from whose early pioneer life are drawn many of Harry Thorpe* t experiences '/at : H \. M ^^WIui!BWfw ,-Vi ;>- AV i-ij if-""-'- p 3E»T:.T»!:i-Y •■ ff^l :^'^iyt3 A Table of the Contents PjIRT I THE FOREST '^'^^ PJRT II THE LANDLOOKER ^^^ PART III THE BLAZING OF THE TRAIL . . . i^^ PART ly THORPE'S DREAM GIRL ^^^ PART F THE FOLLOWING OF THE TRAIL . . joy ''£- ■ii'-ioi .. :■■■%%'- li ^■^th ja'-'y ■■»-■,•■ ., *'«. .•. ,-i =VJ"' I THE BLAZED TRAIL r Part I The Forest 1 r 1 1 i "^V' ^ . i' \;iKf "t.. :. . 1/ Chapter I JTZ^^P^ history has granted him the justice M/^M/" of perspective, we shall know the American her manv^°.r' "' S"^ °^ ^^^ '"^^^ picturesque of ^I ^ X. "S:"'^es. Resourceful, self-reliant hnlri • wi.h. strong -"-im°c's t, a^lf™^ IZ^^^ eive him h« rv^^^i -^^"PlJcu oi ail tlie towns can o c oth, venison for canned tomatoes We foe 1te possess — a frank clearness of the eve a «;uM-nrr !;? m shoulder, a carriage of the hios a tiff' nf 11^ / ^''^ air of muscular well-beinr-- S';.!, ? u^-^ ''^'' ^" ?n-io-;«rr f^ ♦u . oemg — winch marks him as he- S i.^t ' '"''^".'" -"^'■^' ^^'^^ther he wears buck- skin, mackmaw, sombrero, or broadcloth. The wood* 4 THE BLAZED TRAIL are there, the plains, the rivers. Snow is there, and the line of the prairie. Mountain peaks and still pine forests have impressed themselves subtly ; so that when we turn to admire his unconsciously graceful swing, we seem to hear the ax biting the pine, or the prospectors pick tapping the rock. And in his eye is the capability of quiet humor, which is just the quality that the surmounting of many difficulties will give a man. Like the nature he has fought until he understands, his disposition is at once kindly and terrible. Out- side the subtleties of his calling, he sees onlv red. Re- lieved of the strenuousness of his occupation, he turns all the force of the wonderful energies that have car- ried him far where other men would have halted, to channels in which a gentle current makes flood enough. It is the mountain torrent and the canal. Instead of pleasure, he .seeks orgies. He runs to wild excesses of drinking, fighting, and carousing — which would frighten most men to sobriety — with a happy, reckless spirit that carries him beyond the limits of even his extraordinary forces. This is not th? moment to judge him. And yet one cannot help admiring the magnificently picturesque spectacle of such energies running riot! The power is still in evidence, though beyond its proper appli- cpi on. *^*^ Chapter II for many iears Carried Z of Morrison & Daly had lions in the w,lde?«ss ThT^.I'T '°F^"^ °P"»- ■he cut. Two suraTers to?, 5" "'I'" "'""<' "n"'' "=s'--n-SiSV^"«"^^^^^ rpe:^Tiof'A.1h"'"-"''^^"p"™- Mn Sway a m:,i'whor,"''t °="^ ""=« '° him tensive experien« a SrA'.^T'" 'i" P°"«^ «- more of bolh. "P'"'- ^"<' " '°-"" °b. In the tlnng. you Ve got to carrv ]'. •'"'?• ^^ >'°" ^^^'"t "I think I can Mr D i '' T ''■ T," ^'^•'' him. ' ^"^^ •^'''>' tJie jobber assured "For that reason," went on Dniv «• ,..- u- Paymg you as the work prngresses VV.' ''^^''' '° have a guarantee that vn,, ,i -^^ .^- ^^e ve got to thp htt^r-c "'t-i'mcnt. tie dul not perce ve that -1 immm;»«. f 8 THE BLAZED TRAIL rison & Daly to get a certain amount of work, short of absolute completion, done for nothing. "How much does the timb - estimate?" he in- quired finally. " About five millions." *' III need a camp of forty or fifty men then. I don't see how I can run such a camp without bor- rowing. "You have i,ome money, haven't you?" " Yes; a little. But I have a fainiiy. too." " That's all right. Now look here." Daly drew towards him a sheet of paper and began to set down figurer showing hov/ the financing co.ild be done. Finally it was agreed. Radway was permitted to draw on tho Company's warehouse for what provis- ions he would need. Daly let him feel it as a con- cession. All this was in August. Radway, who was a good practical woodsman, set about the job immediately. He gathered a crew, established his camp, and began at once to cut roads through the country he had al- ready blazed on his former trip. Those of us who have ever paused to watch a group of farmers working out their road taxes, must have gathered a formidable impression of road-ckaring. And the few of us who, besides, have experienced the adventure of a drive over the same higlrvay afier the tax has been pronounced liquirlnted, must have in- dulged in varied reflections as to the inadequacy of the result. Radway's task was not merely to level out and bal- last the six feet of a road-bed already constructed, but to cut a way for five miles through the unbroken wilderness. The way had moreover to be not less than twenty-five feet wide, needed to be absolutely level and free from any kind of obstructions, and re- quired in the swamps liberal ballasting with poles, :fi THE BLAZED TRAIL g that go to makeTp^a uoX .' '^'''^'''- '"^ J"' "'^^ tl- crock bottoms ^vhera'l^tr^t'adl.r.T'i^''^'" leve est wav — nfifl »i.» ''J->.>."'n roaU finds often its I , — "-/ — jnu me Di e= nt bushes, and scrubs that choke , he !■, courafrmff and inoxtricahle tnn.de mdcs to street width will look hke a, ^ndenaking. Not only nlu^t c^o but the roots must be cut out. and tt '|;^^'"°"'?^J evcllcd or filled up ■ Raoway ha.I buc a brief time at hi'- a few months at most. - and you w I ' t.on to gauge the first difficulties o can p.oncer expects to encounter as . S^e ;S^,^U^;;^.- a mere line, however, was done 5k.dways. Then finally the scasonW V" pared ,o tell , he firsUrefs-.Therte'? "aneT "' P^^" ers, were busy cuttino- oA,? ^i • f ^"^ swamp- Httle trails do v^n t Sh ^^^^^^ '°°^' "^'■'•°w the skidway at tl e edfe S th/ M ^ -^^^ ^^^ P^"^ ^° trails were perhaps fe flj^wldfS ^^a^vejlil with a ing of i :t hupticss « reniovcd, /-lali cs of irUic t!:at 'i. — i^ut a ■f in a !>n-i. ■<.' the Ameri- ■terii -^e incidei u. it -ptdijy iaik of ith seV' iin fe In fl- uid led 10 THE BLAZED TRAIL •moothness, alfliouprh no attempt was made to level mere incr|nalifi. ; of the groimd. They were called travoy roa'Is (I'rcnch travois). Down them tlie logi would he dragged and haul 1, cither hy means of heavy steel tongs or a short '^ledjjc on which one end of the timher would he chained. McPiitime the sawyers wire husy. Each pair of men selected a tree, the first they encountered over the hinzcd line of their " forty." After determining' in which direction it wa.'-. to fall, thev set to work to chop a deep crash in that side of the tniiik. Tom Droadhead and Henry Paul picked out a tre- mendous pine which they determined to throw across a little open space in proximity to the travov road. One stood to ri.^ht, the other to left, and alternately their axes hit deep. It was a beaut ifid •i\v:,\ii this, of experts wieldinj^ their tools. The craft of the woods- man means incidentally such a free swin.jj of the shoulders and hips, such a directness of stroke as the blade of one sinks accurately in the pash made by the other, that one never tires of watciiiiifr the grace of it. Tom glanced up as a sailor looks aloft. " .'=^he'll do. Hank." he said. The two then with a dozen half clips of tl e ax. re- moved the inequalities of the bark from the saw's path. The long, flexible ribbon of steel began to sing, bending so 3daptai)ly to the hands and motions of the men manipulating, that it did not seem possible so mobile an instrument couM cut the rough pine. In a moment the song changed timbre. Without a word the men straightened their backs. Tom llirtcd along the blade a thin stream of kerosene oil from a bottle in his hip pocket, and the sawyers again bent to their work, swaying back and forth rlivthmicallv, their mus- cles rippling under the texture "of their woolens liko those of n panther under its skin. The outer edge o/ the saw-blade disappeared. A •»»*pi5' #4-^ h ''«? THE BLAZED TRAIL n ;* Better wedge her, Tom." advised Hank They paused while, with ,i heavy slcdt^c. Tom drove • triangle of steel into the crack made by the sawing. This prevented the weight of the tree from pinching he saw. which is a ruin at once to the instrument and the temper cf the filer. Tiien the rhythmical s-c-zl M-3-C fafr^tn took up its song. When the trunk was nearly severed, Tom drove an- other and thicker wedge. " Timber !'• hallooed Hank in a long-drawn melo- dious call that melted through the woods into the dis- safe?' swampers ceased work and withdrew to But the tree stood obstinately upright. So the saw leaped back and forth a few strokes more Crack!" called the tree. Hank coolly unhooked his saw handle, and Tom drew the blade through and out the ocher side Ihc tree shivered then leaned over so slightly from Ikh^^^r.". ""'f""' '^T ^'^^'^' ^''' Pontly. aftcTwards with a crescendo rush, tearing through the branches Of o her trees, bending the small timber, breaking the ^m?K?** ''"u- 1* i^'^^',"'"^ ^^'^'^ ^ tremendous crnsh and bang which filled the air with a fog of small twigs. S ' tk' '^^ P^T^.'^*" °^ ^""^^' ^'^^t settled b^u 6 lowly There is nothing more impressive than this rush of a pme top. excepting it be a charge of cavalry or the fall of Niagara. Old woodsmen som?tin es liftTthcm" '"''^ '^'' '^''' excitement into which it Then the swampers, who had by now finished the travoy road, trimmed the prostrate trunk clear of all protuberances It required fairly skillful ax work The branches had to be shaved close and clear, and at the same time the trunk must not be gashed And often a man was forced to wield his instrument from a con.straintd flositioa. 12 THE BLAZED TRAIL The chopped branches and hmbs had now to be dragged dear and piled. While this was being fin- ished Tom and Hank marked ofif and sawed the log lengths, paymg due attention to the necessity of avojdmg knots, forks, and rotten places. Thus some of the logs were eighteen, some sixteen, or fourteen and some only twelve feet in length Next appeared the teamsters with their little wooden sledges, their steel chains, and their tongs They had been helpmg the skidders to place the parallel and level beams, or skids, on which the logs were to be piled by the side of the road. The trie which Tom and Hank had just felled, lay up a gentle slope from the new travoy road, so little Fabian Laveque. the teamster, clamped the bite of his tongs to he end of the largest, or butt, log. ^ Allez, Molly ! " he cried. ^ rJJ^^^^'T' ^'\^^' ^'?P'i^"tine, her head down, nose close to her chest, intelligently spying her steos moved. The log half rollej-ove?. slid tlfrce feet and menaced a stump. ' " " Gee! " cried Laveque. Molly stepped twice directly sideways, planted her fore foot on a root she had seen, and pulled sharply ^^5 !f °^„^h^ '08^ slid around the stump. ^^' AJIez! commanded Laveque f...u^^ .1^°^!^ u^'^^.^ ^''"8^^''^y ^°^^" t'le hill. She pulled the timber, heavy as an iron safe, here and here through the brush, missing no steps, making no false moves, backing, and finally gettiig out oitht way of an unexpected roll with the ease and intelli! gence of Laveque himself. In five minutes the burden lay by the travoy road. In two minutes more one cj ^J ^u"^ ^.f " '"I'i"'' ^'^^ ^'"'^ «^t wooden sledge and the other end dragging, it was winding majes- tically down through the ancient forest. The lilt'e Frenchman stood high on the forward end. Molly THE BLAZED TRAIL ■ Fabian Lavcm?e sin ',nl^ ' ' J '°'^-'^^- ^^^ ''"le typified the Sm a§e foirirof fr' '" '''' '''''^'''' a wilderness ^"^"^'^ ^P"^'* of these conquerors of ^S^ll^^^^^^^r..oy., the ,0, to s?tSts^--^^^-H;;!;?j^rK?ot^ Gla'];rs^o'i^ch'fr;?o^^';^ ^".^.f^t r^^r ^-^ j- ninff tl,e cant-hoo^' "'""• the brakcman and ' iC' ^"=, ™"' ^ad wo. He hugged tTem ' Inl f ^^l'^' °^ ^^^ other jammed his fate do vn"a4 n t fU ^'' ^'''''' ^"^ features. They co- 1 pound thV "" « .P'^otect his welcome. The only thf^ he leJl °^ ^.'' ^^"^^ ^"^ ^n the side, and for thL jfe e vvas 4 ril'"'^ ^'' " ^'^'^^ The conductor stood over lff„ 5 '^ '°°'^- advantage. "^^"^ "^^ heap, at a manifest to "catch hpfem^^!:-^ ''' -°"gh. or do you want heSSsS 'ThX^Sed'?^ ^T^' ^-'-^ their J'nimy thereupon releitcd,, I ^''''^ '^^^ ^"°"&h. >ng jlou n his ^ousIeThS? tirh1s"'stubb°' S'' '^"^^- duc,^r°^^ 's . ticket or bounce p'' in",Sed tL^„. had tossed it. slungTo^hiri:f "' ^-'\-hither he on down the aisle punching i.li'"'"V, '."^ sauntered lowed Jimmy. When he "fn 'e^?!; ^^^^md him fol- across the platform with th V'^ ^°°'" ^e swung nian. and cmered "h 'othe'r%?r'^ ?"'' ?' '''' ^^^'"^ tickets of the two women anH^. k^'^ ''^ ^"""^ ^^e jn the second car wo^ld I, " ''^ ^^>'- ^ne sitting from the bcarin- or ml ^'^^'^heen unable to ^uesf anything had gone wrong"" °' '''' '^^ of&aJZl f ao THE BLAZED TRAIL The interested spectators of the little drama In- cluded two men near the water-cooler wlio were per- fectly sober. One of them was perhaps a little past the best of life, but still straight and vigorous. His lean face was leatlier-brown in contrast to a long inustaciic and heavy eyebrows bleached nearly white, his eyes were a clear steady blue, and his frame was slender but wiry. He wore the regulation mackinaw blanket coat, a peaked cap with an extraordinarily high crown, and buckskin moccasins over long stock- ings. The other was younger, not more than twenty-six perhaps, with the clean-cut, regular features we have come to consider typically .American. Eyebrows that curved far down along the temples, and eyelashes of a darkness in contrast to the prevailing note of his com- plexion combined to lend him a rather brooding, soft, and melancholy air which a very cursory second ex- amination showed to be fictitious. His eyes, like the woodsman's, were steady, but inquiring. His ja',v was square and settled, his mouth straight. One would be likely to sum him up as a man whose actions would be little inlluenced by glamour or even by the sentiments. And yet, equally, it was difficult to rid the mind of the impression produced by his eyes. Unlike the other inmates of the car, he wore an ordi- nary business suit, somewhat worn, but of good cut, and a style that showed even over the soft flannel shirt. The trousers were, however, bound inside the usual socks and rubbers. The two seat mates had occupied their time each in his own fashion. To the elder the journey was an evil to be endured with the patience learned in watch- ing deer runways, so he stared straight before him, and spat with a certain periodicity into the c ..tre of the aisle. The younger stretched back lazily in an attitude of ease which spoke of the habit of traveUing. THE BLAZED TRAIL 2} f']^,t'"^5,^';,^^,7'^^^ a pipe. Thnc. he read over arrangcn,ents for he to staf " U— ^' ''"^ '"^'^^ now," she vvrnfp "tl i Y" ^' '^ interesting,— as tl ouil^ ;°u'o,M?;;^' the resources do not look and do a multitude ofo?hl ^""^ ^'""^ ^"^ stew vaguely supposcd'c'ant' eac y^a"!!: ^it ' -''^T' after I have learned it nil T i^. u ,■ ^'^^ '*•' ^"t tise will appeal to r^eJch Rn""^' ^'''?^" '"^^ P^^^" well enough for a veTr nr „"°^"^^'^r' ^ ^^n stand it trull, that, alttouih lea™ n^ r '"='' J?"sht her the interesting, .he pfa .^^^"'"of ,="„ "„7J *'"? '' ="">" no..s. AndherpU.ckaDDe-.I^H,„h- , '? "'°"°^o. for a Kirl to stcn m^ .t"^ • '° '"'"■ '• '« "ot easy vant. .0 that n( h 1 •"'' ''.°""°" °< -distress of ser- pocLt!':;!?!^;;;^'--,^^^ -^ sixty cents in his lasting, fortune at prelent ' '^''"' °^ '^^"^ ^^^^- ''^I'.m'.^r Y^ ''''" answered from Detroit i am -lad you are settled," he wrote "A f i * I know you have enou^rh tn -f , j^*^"^^- , At least 1 hope sincerely th?t v nf, ^t ^""^ ^ ""^^^ o^^r XO". self to vour new con d^^^^^^^ ^^ f "•• ^P\ ^^^t y^ur- With n.y lack of ^^^i j^::ri^^j:^.:'^ 23 THE BLAZED TRAIL where to take hold, it may be a good matiy year* before we can do any l)cttcr." When Helen Thorpe read this, she cried. Things had pfonc wrontj tliat luorninp^. and an encouraging word would have helped lior. The soinher tone of her brother's communication threw her into a fit of the blues from which, for the first time, slie saw her sur- roundings, in a depressing and distasteful light. And yet he had written as he did with the kindest possible motives. ihorpe had the misfortune to be one of those indi- viduals who, though careless of what people in gen- eral may think of them, are in a corresponding degree sensitive to the opinion of the few they love. This feeling was further exaggerated by a constitutional shrinking from any outward manifestation of the emo- tions. As a natural result, he was often thought in- different or discouraging when in reality his natural affections were at their liveliest. A failure to procure for a friend certain favors or pleasures dejected him, not only because of that friend's disappointment, but because, also, he imagined the failure earned him a certain blame. Blame from, his heart's intimates he shrank from. His life outside the inner circles of his affections was apt to be so militant and so divorced from considerations of amity, that as a matter of natural reaction he became inclined to exaggerate the importance of small objections, litt'c reproaches, slight criticisms from his real friends, buch criticisms seemed to bring into a sphere he would have liked to keep solely for the mutual reliance of loving kindness, something of the hard utilitar.anism of tlie world at large. In consequence he gradually came to choose the line of least resistance, to avoid instinctively even the slightly disagreeable. Perhaps for this reason he was never entirely sincere with those he loved. He never gave assent to, manifested approval of, or THE BLAZED TRAIL ,3 ihowcd enthusiasm over anv r,in« or the reason tharhrnevc" cla^rcd offef '''^ ^^ '^ ^' ematical anticipation Tho nffn u' ^ '""''^'y pr^b- li'tcly certain in his own mf ??^'/" ^^'^ '« ^^ -^>50- adnm anyone o te p "a^ure o^-'^'i •'' "*^"^"^^^^ ^'^ ".--and simply bcxatse he so a id ll'^ r""^^^' ^° "lent m case anything shn .Irl r, ^'''^ '• ^^'^ ^o not products. \vc lie to be^^'^"^'J-"^^'-<;'y finished thouj^h the product spoil ^''^ "^^'^'"S^- even serv!;;l;;r^-;l-J-;;onc>^^o,ethe^ with his re- centered man. discot rnc.1 ^ "" ''^''^e'" ^^o'tJ. self- to adopt them a er in t- '"^'^"^'""^ at first only and eonferri,K^tvo ' in a^'r^!. T'"'^';^^^''^ ^^-^'''""^ "manner which destrovod ttrrlvfh ^""''''?- '"'P'^'-^ona In reality 'n's heart In nV redl^tlT/'i'^^^ ^''•^•""• t»'>s false attitude pcMier^lk rpln f ^^^^^^'on which wet blanket of cloiS Tver w3 "^- ^^" "^''^-^^v the because his mind worked with ^ ^° •'"^. enthusiasms which did not at 0° cenernf r '■'''"' ^'^''■'^^"'•^'^"ess ticability of the schemo^ T '"?' ^° '^^ ^'>e prac I^i't bv that time nro ?i, ^T' ''^ ^^'°"'^J approve fcctually extin:ui;irj;r t^'^g)^^^" 7^ blanket \ll Ji savor your pleasures cold """°^ ^'^^""VS ^i^i a ^^St^d^af ^7; -^.^l,^^:^'^-. Harry Thorpe l",qr which he different occupations ovhichh?"''tr"' '" ^"^" ^^^^ and necratived (hem one bv -n. r"'''/"''" '"'^ ''and. Hi THE BLAZED TRAIL have corrmcndcd itself more logically to her had shd been able to tolLw step by step ihc coiisidciatioas that haf' led l.cr brother to it. As the event tuiiied, she was .orccd to accept it blindly. She knew that her brother intended guuig V\ cat, but as to his hopci, and plans she was in ignorance. A little sympathy, a lit- tle mutual understanding would have- meant a great deal to her, for a girl whose mother she but dimly re- members, turns naturally to her next of kin. lieien Thorpe had always admired her brother, but had never before neeiled him. She had looked upon him as strong, self-contained, a little moody. Now the lone of his letter caused her to womler whether he were not also a tritle hard and cold. So she wept on receiving it, and the tears watered the ground for dis- content. At the beginning of the row in the smoking car, Thorpe laid aside his letter and v.ntchcd with keen appreciation the direct practicality oi the trainmen's meth >d. W hen the bearded man fell before the conductor's blow, he turned to the individual at his side. " He knows how to hit, doesn't he! " he observed. " That fellow was knocked well off his feet." " He does," agreed the other dryly. They fell into a desultory conversation of fits and starts. Woodsmen of the genuine sort are never talka- tive ; and Thorpe, as has been explained, was consti- tutionally reticent. In the course of their disjointed remarks Thorpe explained that he was looking for work in the woods, and intended, first of all, to try the Morrison ik Daly camps at Jiceson Lake. "Know anything about logging?" inquired t'lc stranger. " Nothing," Thorpe confessed. " Ain't much show for anything but lumber-jacks. What did you think of doing ? " THE BLAZED TRAIL 3; " I don't know," said Thorpe, doiiht fully " 1 hive dnven horses a good deal; I .hon^ht I might dr've The woodsman turned slowlv and looked Thorne "Quite like." he replied still more dr>lv 1 he boys remark had amused liim. and he had ccptmg always (he nverman. the ' ^^^ ^^■'" ^'^^' opi"ions of a tentTon to let^ih"?'"'" ^'°": "/ revised his first in! V T . • ^^ *"'-' conversation drop 1 thmk M & D. is rather full nn I'ncf «- ," u remarked. " I'm walkin'-boss 1 re^ ^Tl e Toads is about al made, and road-makin, is wh t a% ten horn tackles first. Thev's more chance earlier fnth* m_L v\orG; ,,ahit notiuu for you, just ask for 26 THF .LAZED TRAIL Tim Shearer, ai ^ii try lo ,at you on the trail for some jo!)ber's a 'r i." The whistle of u.c io^.,;jo ive blew, and the conduc- tor appeared in tiie doorway. " \\ here's that fellow's turkey?" he inquired. Several men looked toward Thorpe, who, not under- standing^ this art^ot of the camps, was a little bewil- dered. Shearer reached over his head and took from the rack a heavy canvas bag, which he lianded to the conductor. "That's the ' turkev ' — " he explained, "his war bap:. V'ud'U throw it ofT at Scott's, and Jack'U get it there." " How far I xk is he?" asked Thorpe. " About ten mile. He'll hoof it in all right." A mmiber of men descended at Scott's. The three who had come into collision with Jimmv and Bud were getting noisier. They had produced a stone jug, and had collected the remainder of the passengers, — with the exception of Shearer and Thorpe, — and now were passing the jug rapidly from hand to hand. Soon they became musical, striking up one of the weird long-drawn-out chants so popular with the shanty boy. Thorpe shrewdly guessed his compan- ion to be a man of weight, and did not hesitate to ascribe his immunity from annoyance to the other's presence. " It's a bad thing," said the walking-boss, " I used to be at it myself, and I know. When I wanted whisky. I neerlcd it worse than a scalded pup does a snow bank. The first year I had a hundred and fifty dollars, and I blew h^r all in six days. Next year I had a little more, but she lasted me three weeks. That was better. Next year. I says to myself, I'll just save fiftv nf that stake, and blow the rest. So I did. After that I got to be scaler, and sort'vc quit. I just made a deal with the Old Fellow to leave my stake with t! ' 1 THE BLAZED TRAIL 27 hea.'quarters no matter whcihpr T .-,iw • I ?ot quite a lot connng, now -' ''" ^^^ '' ""' "°t- aperture of ufe'ioor""' "^""'"^ ^^'•"^>' '^ -"gh an lo"fe^ See you a-a^n " ! ' ''^'^"'-,°"l '"^ hand. " so 0//i;clIow.'llX;,:.ri'Let"e;-^'"' ' ^^^ ^^"''» ^^- you."'"'" " '^^'^'-i^^"' '-^'P'-J the other. "Thank TK> revellers stumblLl out ttotlr ioor"'^^'"''^^ yorul the ence i; I nrnf r'"'^ "'"^'^^ '^'^ '^'"^^^- Be! form he tC^^Iu he' saw I'h" '' ''' ^-''^ °^ ^'^^^ P'^'- reach of snow, a li tanT nr ' 'V-^'-'^^'O" of a broad was twinkling v tl/^^st ' m h'^''•?^"'^^'^^ The ai? north country """"^ ^^'^ ^^'^''^^'^ stars of the a sm^" buiS::;;;:!^^^-^:;;-- ^^ ^f -^ ^^^^-n, tary lamp in a low -s'to v roo n" Tl' ^f ''^' ""'.' ''^''' deseended before Thorpe n a 1 J ^''"'' ^^'''^ ^'^"^^ I'glit, stumbling and Sin^n ?^'.^'", ^"^vard this it u-as probably in 1 e ?' ^? ""^^'"'^'"b'. so he knew to follow them^ Sh arer aid th ?''' '"'^ '^''^P^'-^d individual much m fdc I - ?„ ' f f '^P ^ff^"t,-an ofsome light freight iJiwr ^? ^''^' disposition bafr-age car. ^ ^^ ^"""^ ^^^" dropped from the the'b:i;■ding:"o^^^^^ ^Hir'''' ^^ ^'r p-p-^or of with a harelip and eleffnaho "■''• ?°'' '"^' ^^°"^' i-n^ the wellinown tJ^^'l^^^^^ ^^^ i if i 1 -ill! 28 THE BLAZED TRAIL afflicted, and imparted also to the timbre of his voice a peculiarly hollow, resonant, trumpet-like note. He stumped about energetically on a wooden leg of home manufacture. It was a cumbersome instrument, heavy, with deep pine socket for the stump, and a projecting brace which passed under a leather belt around the man's waist. This instrument he used with the dexterity of a third hand. As Thorpe v. atclied him, he drove in a projecting nail, kicked two " turkeys " dexterously inside the open door, and stuck the armed end of his peg-leg through the top and bottom of the whisky jug that one of the new ar- rivals had set down near the door. The whisky promptly ran out. At this the cripple flirted the im- paled jug from the wooden leg far out over the rail of the verandah into the snow. A growl went up. " What'n hell's that for ! " snarled one of the owners of the whisk'' ' '^ateningly. " Don't all- whisky here," snufTcd the harelip. The men w^. .-y angry. They advanced toward the cripple, who retreated with astonishing agility to the lighted room. There he bent the wooden leg be- hind him, slipped the end of the brace from beneath the leather belt, seized the other, peg end in his right hand, and so became possessed of a murderous bludg- eon. This he brandished, hopping at the same lime back and forth in such perfect poise and yet with so ludicrous an efTect of popping corn, that the men were surprised into laughing. " Bully for you, peg-leg!" they cried. " Rules 'n regerlations, boys," replied the lalter, without, however, a shade of compromising in his tones. " Had supper? " On receiving a reply in tlie affirmative, he caught up the lamp, and, having resumed his artificial leg in one deft motion, led the way to narrow little rooms. iSStmtjaLiJi'jakKi U Chapter IV to a round stove bio-asl"hn;i. '•^""'^'f^ ^'o^vn stairs dt.mped ln,(.c Io'4 Sf wood ' ' ";-° '^''""'^ ^'^^ ^'•'PPle breakfast Thorpe retuned to fT" 'T '° ''=^^- ^f^^'- dozing for what seemed ?n ''' f "''^ ^"^ sat half onhe^orth cc^^:^3^i;.l;- -° ;.es. ^^^ -Id Shei^^rTas^ - -f ;,lr ^^f P'P-nci went out. cnrtly to the younc. man hii ' ^y-T'""'"^" "°^'J^d Thorpe vaguelj wondS'ed'wt ' A /e 'a'V^'^^ ^^"^• ■^t'lf put on his overco-it ami V ^/'^'^ ? ^mie he him- tov/n. It seemed to Tl^i ventured out into the '"niber, m^^ l7unpain^ dTv'th 7'^'' f'''' '-'''^ °^ -jngr fringe ^f tL forek h^hK^ Vh ' ''"■■'' "^^"- mill, with its tall stark-5 rinH •; V"- ^''^'^t saw -protection aga n ffire - on t'nn^'" ^^ water-barrels note. Near the mill "rouehed 'a liJtl^'' H°"-""^* structure from whose stovenin^ n , ^-ed-pamted smoke rose, attesting the coT.rl' "I"" ?^ ^^''^'^^ straight upward, and to whose dnn"" '^T^''''^^ ^'^^ were directing heir s?ens ?h J , V'""'''"'' ^^ "'^» the door Thofne conM It^!- °","'' ^'^^ ^"o^^'- Over He followed and entered "^"'^'^ '^'' ''^'^ " O^ce " before. The rel/nder of theTffi"'°"' '^^ ^'^^ "''^ht dation to three clerk. oVr?^'' ^^''^ accommo- ^"inngly as Thorpe cam^^n °' ''"^ ^^^""^ "P >"' I am looking for work." said Thorpe. • L 30 THE BLAZED TRAIL " Wait there," briefly commanded the clerk. In a few moments the door of the inner room opened, and Shearer came out. A man's head peered from within. " Come on, boys," said he. _ The five applicants shuffled through. Thorpe found himi-clf in the presence of a man wiiom he felt lO be the natural leader of these wild, independent spirits. He was already a little past middle life, and his form had lost the elastic vipfor of youth. But his eye was keen, clear, and wrinkled to a certain dry facet ious- ness; and his figure was of that bulk which gives an impression of a subtler weight and power than the merely physical. This peculiarity impresses us m the portraits of such men as Daniel Webster and others of the old jurists. The manner of the mar, was easy, good-natured, perhaps a little facetious, but these qualities were worn rather as garments than exhibited as -diarncteristics. He could afford them, not because he had fewer difficulties to overcome or battles to fight than another, but because his strength was so sufficient to them that mere battles or diffi- culties could not affect the deliberateness of his hu- mor. You felt his superiority even when lie was most comradely with you. This man Thorpe was to meet under other conditions, wherein the steel hand would more plainly clink the metal. He was now seated in a worn office chair before a httered desk. In the close air hung the smell of stale cigars and the clear fragrance of pine. "What is it, Dennis?" he asked the first of the men. " I've been out." replied the hmibcrman. " Have you got anything for me, Mr. Daly?" The mill-owner laughed. _ i Shearer, man. right Denny i Jr^W'i!^^ I III THE BLAZED TRAIL The lumberman sfrjnned slieeoishlv " t ^ . know. s,r. I didnt get that f,,;.!^^P'^'^'>'- I don't to come'l.ck; too - •h/ad;i;!;rf -^■°" ^"^' ^^'" -"^ rmat^s.;:;^?^!^''^^^"^^---^-^^;^^^^ " \VV ^ '^'1"f-''ool< man. sir." , VVhere have you worked?" Rivi ia^t Vhnen"' '''^^"' ^ ^^^'^^'"^ °n the Gear " All right, we need cant-hook n , p -en/andifU.ydontwant^^r.\^^°^.j! finS^rS.S^lf- -" -th an air of in? his cap i„ his hands ^""'^ ""'^^''^' ^wist- "(vf !•■'",? >;°"/7"t? " asked Daly at last i«-s sir, blurted the hie man •• if r ^- ^ here and tell vou T vv:,nf fL j "^^ ^ ^°"^e down lars to bury my Mother I vvi7 "^^^'f^ ""^ ^^^^ dol- "All right, Bub," said he, " to hell it is " crisper tones. Thorpe fehVh.lV"'^"''''^ '" ^ '''"le with the same careless a ni -^ ^\''^' "«* t'-^ated ally, he might be more of " ^"^^'' ^V'^' P°tenti- .Tar:;» iF-' '^"- '™^' -'^n?w ir j 1 ifci p THE BLAZED TRAIL " Any !and, so I can learn something about the lumber busmess." The older man studied him keenly for a few mo- ments. " Have you had any other busmess experience?" " None." " What have you been doing? " " Nothing." The lumberman's eyes hardened. " We are a very busy firm here," he said with a certain deliberation ; " we do not carry a big force of men in any one department, and each of those men has to fill his place and slop some over the sides. We do not pretend or attempt to teach here. If you want to be a lumberman, you must learn the lumber busi- ness more directly than through the windows of a bookkeeper's office. Go into the woods. Learn a few first principles. Find out the difference between Norway and white pine, anyway." Daly, being what is termed a self-made man, en- tertained a prejudice against youths of the leisure class. He did not believe in their earnestness of pur- pose, their capacity for knowledge, nor their perse- verance in anything. That a man of twenty-six should be looking for his first situation was incom- preliensible to him. He made no effort to conceal his prejudice, because the class to which the young man had belonged enjoyed his hearty contempt. The truth is, he had taken Thorpe's ignorance a little too much for granted. Before leaving his home, and while the project of emigration was still in the air, the young fellow had, with the quiet enthusiasm of men of his habit of mind, applied himself to the mastenng of whatever the books could teach. That is not much. The literature on lumbering seems to be singularly limited. Still he knew the trees, and had sketched an outline into which to paint expert- THE BLAZED TRAIL 33 tu'le: to stand on appcaranco Sm'"'"-^ °"^ ^''^ ^"•- ni'Sht have cau-ht Darv'. ; ' ;:"'''-'i''ff^^'-vvar(I talk 'r...n u-as, after all a ^.reu^I rr''; °"r ^?'" *'^^ ^""''^^'- wouM have turn^^'^^r^^r^^K;: , ^^^^" ^-^^ ^^ After Ins speccluhe business n,an;^d..hfrled back ti.:;|^ t^c^^rsi^fv,:- /?^ ^° ^'^ ^" ^^^ -d. ^riel^t^il:;;^;;!/^':^^^ ^^^ . on the advfce of There he had 'been to ^^l^,^ 'tTir^ ^^'>'- hiniinr men. Now withnnt f f u ^^'^ ^f""! ^^'^re hp made the elenTem yl^rerv t Int '" ''''■''''i'''' mrr H-ood skilled labor counts H^ H'T" '" ^^"P" where to turn next and h, „! ,^^ *^."^ "°- '^"ow rnor,ey to c,o farVn any ca t T'^ ,","' '^^"^^'^ '^^^^ the brusque greeting "ha" mornfn. l""' f ^^"^'^ ^'^''^''^'■^'•'s cordiality, he reS. ed T c ilf 'f "^'^"^^ ^ ^^^^^^ of promised assistance ^^''^ rivennan of his prS^^C^r':^^^;-'^ t r^'^^- ^ ^^^ - aftor;vard to apnrecia^e heTnhtl^' ''''■'■ "^ ""^^ and treattiK^nt In- Xh n hn "•"^"''" °^ '^^'^'"er prcmacy in a lumber cou'trv^^' T'T ^^ "^°'-^' ^"- fam:!iarity which breeds conteTim^f-V''* ^^'^ •^'"^^t 'ng: the trust and comn?] ' ^ ', \"'=""t imperil- in^ness. In the"morn?^ToTpe" id\'""'^ ^^•'"- pect.e employee of .he fir^' an^^d^^r ^^^ #4 34 THE BLAZED TRAIL I subordinate of Shearer himself. Now he was Shearer's C(iu:i). " Co I'p and tackle Radway. He's jobbing: for us on the Cass ]ir. nci. lie needs men for rcjidin', I know, l.'ccausc Iie'~ bvliitul. You'll get a job there." " W licre is it?" asked Thorpe. " Ten miles from licrc. She's blazed, l-it you bet- ter wait for th' supply team, Friday. If you try to make her yourself, you'll get lost on some of th' old loqcjin' roads." Thorpe considered. " I'm busted," he said at last frankly. "Oil, that's all right," rei)lied the walking-boss. " Marshall, come here! " The peiT-legged boar'ing house keeper stumped in. " What is it ? " he trumpeted snufflingly. "This boy wants a job till Friday. Then he's go- ing up to Radv.ay's with the supply team. Now^ quit your hollerin' for a chore-boy for a few- days." " All right," snorted Marshall, " take that ax and split some dry wood that you'll find behind th' house." " I'm very much obliged to you," began Thorpe to the walking-boss, and " " That's all right," interrupted the latter, " some day you can give me a job." fii- --■fv'" t^ ■ °'''"' ^^^"".^ ^^e north-wind in the somber ouahtvo'ftT" '"^' °^ '""^ eagles wheel-.d eracefullv f o 2 ?V ^''^^^ ' ''^'-e coquetted with fhe L. eape"/t ni.ht"TH ^^"^"^ creatures of the iorf<,t v^r,f j ^"^ the many i^ search of food 1 wea " '''k°"' I''''''' '^' P^^'^s ^' weasels ; big white hares ; deer 35 ' ■f 30 THE BLAZED IKAIL plantin.q: daintily their little sharp hoofs \v!:ere (he frozen turnips were most plentiful; porcu[)iiie> in quest of anything; they could get their keen leetu in lo; — and often the bi,;^ timber wolves would siud shivering across the waste a long whining howl. And in the moining their tracks woulti cnbroitler the snow with many stories. Thfi talk about the great stove in the boanlinrj- house office also possessed the charm of balsam fra- grance. One told the other occtdt facts about the " Southeast of the southwest of eight." The second in turn vouchsafed information about another point of the compass. Thorpe heard of many curious practical expedients. He learned that one can prevent awk- ward air-holes in lakes by " tapping " the ice with an ax, — for the air must get out, naturally or artifici- ally ; that the top log on a load should not be large because of the probability, when one side has dumped with a rusii, of its falling straight down irum its orig- inal height, so breaking the sleigh ; that a thin slice A salt pork well pejipcred is good when tied about a sore tliroat; that choking a horse v.ill cause him to swell up and lloat on the top of the water, thus rendering it easy to slide him out on the ice from a hole he may have broken into; that a tree lodged against aiiothcr may be brought to the ground by felling a third against it; that snowshoes made of caribou hide do not become baggy, because caribou shrinks when wet, whereas other rawhide stretches. These, and many other things too coin[)licatcd to ehborate here, he heard discussed by exj)ert opinion. Gradually he acquired an enthusiasm for the woods, just as a boy conceives a longing for the out-of-door life of which he hears in the conversation of his elders about the winter lire. He became eager to get away to the front, to s'and among the pines, to grai)i)!c with the difficulties of thicket, hill, snow, and cold that i iHE BLAZED TRAIL 37 na^re silently interposes between the man and his hi;\VX r ° dun, "T!:,-'^ T'^^' ^^"^ ^^"--^ f-'n loadirm tic slfifri, ,„;f!, „ • *-"^' • assibtcd in hoof^Ua^vn!?''''/ ^'■'"-^' ''^^''^•" ^'^ ^dv's^'d : " better nooi 11 a uays and j^et warm." " shock f™"'alix1,','};;j.^7™"^ °' " ^■-g--'''^ in^"afS .";e";airof";h;","Tr'f ^'""'"'^' """ '"P- . f/ 38 IHE BLAZED TRAIL I drew. He saw now that the pines were beautiful and solemn and still; and that in the temple of their col- umns dwelt winter enthroned. Across the carj,jt of the snow wandered tlie trails of her creatures. — the stately regular prints of tiic i)artridp;e; the series of pairs macle by the S(|uirrel ; tlujse of the weasel and mink, just like the scjiiirrels' except that the prints were not quite side by side, and that between every otiier pair stretcheil the mark e strani^ely assorted bamls of woods- creatures which are always cruisincf il throusixh the country, lie heard the clieerful little cliickaturc ever cotUaincd so much room. One end furnished space for two cooking ramres and THE BLAZKD TRAIL 39 loaves of hrca.l. a,okics am ,,i? n' ''"'" ""^• occupK.I I,y four I..nJ k .' , ''^ ''^•"•er was appIo-Uutcr. con'-' and ^''f. -t;^- Thorpe made a n^;tak^"'"^ '''' ^•^"-^- -^ oooke^r^in^;^:^,:^-;^-- here." objected the "Th;;n7'T, "^-^^^t :'^;°.'^ "—- '»'n.r!;p;;;;Lr^^^;;;;;;^;- the '•van; ,ni,ht h, "moments the task wai fin^u"/''''-''"'^'^- J" a few -f a half 'f . fenorance, or his ».s „othi„Tb-urT,!\.^:;r, . ri °h r' '',• Ws," said ■ine reptilian jroni'f^- > 1 Uf ^ -^s,n,.^nin,,-;-,;---a.-^^^^ i-nir -a!^^ ^ ^;!j:rr? 'n '^ ^"- ^^ -^ the hurt tlieotherfe ow Andin/^''"^'~^">'^'"^ to knock-down-an ?drac. o rn.^T"'"'.^'^-^^^'»°"ed woodsman is ahotn -.e tou C t en?! """^'f ^°"'' you will belik-clvtomeet TtI- K^°r'''''t° ^^^"dJe and. with a fewSanin^, ^,^"^^ Z'^^" to get drtnk effort to " clean out '' a ^k" 'tnwr\''''', ^" "" ^^^"^^^ cheorhdly punishment enoiS to km .^ ^'" ^^^^P^ men It takes one of his kirfd r allv t^ W u'^''^''^ ■Inorpe, at the first hnct,!^ "-'^ '^ comin- first " plenty." ^ " ' '^"^ ^^^ ^ S:omg to get it go^od and ii the affair had been serion.: ti,« never have recoiled before Tr^^Ve'S^eTo" a7,S ;l ■' i 48 THE BLAZED TRAIL mA '. of hardwood. The American woodsman is afraid of nothing human. But this was a good-natured bit of foolery, a test of nerve, and thero was no object in getting a broken head for that. The reptilian gentle- man alone grumbled at the abandonment of the at- tack, mumbling something profane. " If you hanker for trouble so much," drawled the unexpected voice of old Jackson from the corner, " mebbe you could put on th' gloves." The idea was acclaimed. Somebody tossed out a dirty torn old set of buckskin boxing gloves. The rest was farce. Thorpe was built on the true athletic lines, broad, straight shoulders, narrow flanks, long, clean, smooth muscles. He possessed, besides, that hereditary toughness and bulk which no gymnasium training will ever quite supply. The other man, while powerful and ugly in his rushes, was clumsy and did not use his head. Thorpe planted his hard straight blows at will. In this game he was as manifestly superior as his opponent would probably have been had the rules permitted kicking, gouging, and wrestling. Finally he saw his opening and let out with a swinging pivot blow. The other i)icked himself out of a corner, and drew off the gloves. Thorpe's status was assured. A I'renchman took down his fiddle and began to squeak. In the course of the dance old Jackson and old Heath found themselves together, smoking their pipes of Peerless. " The young feller's all right," observed Heath ; " he cuffed Ben up to a peak all right." " Went down like a peck of wet fish-nets," replied Jackson tranquilly. Chapter VII ^ over the situation. T,. scTr''"'\ '" ^' ''^^"'S %er. slouched back in e d 1 ' '''""'^ "^'"^ ^^a^ great honest superior as a era n I' T'''^'"^ '^'^ ^atch the hh-.nderinos of -, If i/ ^'^'"^>' ^^^ '"'&ht «Poke. it was with a niockerv • n^'*"?'"'- ^^''^^'" '^^ escape the perceptions of the T,'", '"'^^'^ ^^ ^"'te to -' precise little black mustn/J^ '"mbernian. Dyer had stantlv twisting into po^'li:^::::^'' ''^ "^^ '^«"- effemmate blacK laslcs Vnf '-\^^':«^vs, and long ^"s dress in the citv to K • '''"^'' ''^"^^'^ expected cnouf^h so to be loiul ?w • •""'' ^ ^''^^' '^ashv. no good taste. The no men rn ""'"^'^ ^ ^° ^^'^ trifles o rA S;T^P,, :^ P;ne is ^in, to under- thousand." ^ ''°" * ^'^'^ over three hundred l^^r:X uri;?^;^?:i^^^-3::;'and so much l^ecause small stuff keh;,f7P^">-^' '^tand in on it null-cut." '^^^ ^^^* ^'^vays over-runs on the Pike Lak"e> '" ^°'"^ ^° ^'•^>'-haul that Norway across inchS^'oT^cT^ill how a^t'i"^-'' ^"f ^^^ ^^^I^^ ^^7 five that. How .-.oh r we nutTi'nt"-^ ''^T'' '"^'"^ ^han About ^o'-ty thousand." ^ '" "^ '^^>'' "°^? " 40 ■.THmSMgrn 50 THE BLAZED TRAIL Radwav fell silent. „ , , j " That's niiirhty little for such a crew, he observed at last, doubtfully. " I always said you were too easy with them, i ou got to drive them more." " Well, it's a rou.uh country," apolonjizcd Radwav, tryincr. as was his custom, lo fmd excuses for the oilu r party'^as soon as he was a':rrced with in his blame, "there's anv amount of poiholes; and, then, we've had so much snow the p^roiuid ain't really froze under- neath. It gets pretty soft in some of them swamps. Can't figure on putting up as much in this country as we used to down on the Muske^ion." The scaler smiled a thin smile all to himself behind the stove. V>\iX John Radwav depended so much on the moral efTect of approval or ('isapproval .by those with whom he lived. It amused Dyer to withhold the timely word, so leaving the jubl'er to llounder be- tween his easy nature and lus sense of what ^llOuld be done. , , . . Dver knew perfectly well that the work was behmd, and he knew the reason. lM:)r some time the men had been relaxing their efforts. They had workeil honestly enough, but a certain snap and vim had lacked. This was because Radway had been too easy on them. Your true lumber-jack adores of all thmgs m crea- tion a man wdiom he feels to be stronger than him- self. If his cmplovcr is big enough to drive him, then iie is willing to be driven to the last ounce of his strength. But once he gets the notion that h'S " boss " is afraid of. or for, him or his feelings or his health, he loses interest in working for that man. So a little effort to lighten or expedite his work, a little lenicncv in excusing the dilatory finishing of a job, a little'easing-up under stress of weather, are taken as so manv indications of a desire to conciliate. And r-sti n THE BLAZED TRAIL 5, conciliation means weakness every tiire. Your lum l>Cin.:T lionored as one of a scries of iohs th IT. i Old Shearer, he's tlie bully bov." said Rnh ^fm* »^oiu, says imi, you sons of frun^i yon ^of vr,,,, gomg to one or .he other!' "And'l^Jleam iHLi! I THE BLAZED TRAIL Them was great days ! Forty million a vear, and not a hitch." One man said nothing in the general discussion. It was his (itst witucr in the woods, and plainly in the eyes of tiie veterans this experience did not count. It was a futtlc dc iiucti.v, in which one would give an honest day's work, and no more. As has been hinted, even the inexperienced new- comer notici d the lack of enthusiasm, of unity. Had he knuwn the loyalty, devotion, and adoration that a thoroughly competent man wins from his " hands." the state oj affairs would have seemed even uK^re sur- prisin^^ The lumber-jack will work sixteen, eigh- teen hours a day, sometimes U]) to the waist in water full of lloatHig ice; sleep wet on the ground by a lit- tle fire ; and then next morning will spring to work at daylight with an " Oh, nu, not tired; just a little stiff, sir! " in chceriul reply to his master's inciuiry. — for the rieht man ! Only it must be a strong man, — with the strength of the wilderness in his eye. The next morning Radway transferred Molly and Jenny, with lit'le I-abian Laveque and two of the younger men, to Pike Lake. There, earlier in the sea- son, a number of pines had been felled out on the ice, cut in logs, and left in expectation of ice thick enough to bear the travoy " dray." Owing to the fact that the shores of Pike Lake were extremely pre- cipitous, i' had been impossible to travoy the logs up over the hill. Radway had sounded carefully the thickness oi the ice with an ax. Although the weather had of late been sufficiently cold for the time of year, the snow, as often happens, had fallen before the temperature. Under the warm white blanket, the actual freezing bar] been slight. However, there seemed to be at least eig^it inches of clear ice, which would sufiice. Some of the logs in question were found to be half JC'i TT -BL WS' THE BLAZED TRAIL 53 jmhodderl in the ice. It became necessary fir<=t of all e Pht feet oner, while Pat Mc(,..nre chopped a ho^e ;a.^ was accomplished' in fi^^ n nun '7 tlJ^Hou d DC(..i cat-a-corncrcd from its u-d, the chain xvns f-fc encd around one end by rnoans o the e -er' sefui to c e n' lill r.S"'' ^•'"- '"' ^V'-'v across the ic^e ere n dip ,„ the shore ffave arcrss to a skidwav ^ r loffs had thus been safclv i.aded Th! finh was . ,n us journey across the lake. S,. iderlv ,• ,t warnnvn. and with scarcely a sound. bothhZes a^k o v"?iy^i;S:;^'^'^.'' ''"'^?'-> "P aro.nd the" ~ nd ou tncir i)acks in irr.-ular rotted pieces 1 ,t,u ^^ Pa^vX^'^'^'- -^'i"-P-' d^^wn from h The hor^;'^ ' V'";' ''"7^ "^"'•y'^ ^ame nmnmg. V ', h tl^^ ' '""°''^" ^^'"""-'i an air-,ole about MnHv . ir 'I'' '^'■°"-^- ^''-^'"an iiad already sdzed a'iove wier."' '"' ^"' ^^^^ ^°'^'"^^ ^^ heaj Sy T^rfb-^?"'' ""^ "^'^ ^^"'^ ' " ^^ ^"^d to Par nJ]n;';h^^^earai.rs:s:"'¥;f'-V^^ clemanded absolutely no ha te for i conl h.^''^'^" lock. ^"^'' "^^ ^°"^t: to a dead- " Oh, Lord ! ■' cried Pat, clinging desperately to C J*4 ■*! 54 THE BLAZED TRAIL Jenny's headpiece. " What will we'z be doin' ? We can't niver liaul them two horses on the ic'\" " Tak' de log-chain," said Fabian to Henrys, " an' tie him arouncl de nee' of Jenny." Henrys, after much dififii ulty and nervous fum1)lin,c:, managed to loosen the swamp-hook; and after much more difiFiculty and nervous fumbling succeeded in making it fast about the gray mare's neck. Fabian intended with this to choke the animal to that pe- culiar state when she would lloat like a balloon on the water, and two men could with ease draw her over the edge of the ice. Then the unexpected happened. The instant Henrys had passed the end of the chain through the knot, Pat, possessed by some Hibernian notion that now all was fast, let go of the bit. Jenny's head at once went under, and the end of the logging chain glided over the ke and fell plump in the hole. Immediately all w, ^ confusion. Jenny kicked and struggled, churning the water, throwing it about, kicking out in every direction. Oiice a horse's head dips strongly, the game is over. No animal drowns more quickly. The two young boys scrambled away, and French oaths could not induce them to approach. Molly, still upheld by Fabian, looked at him piteously with her strange intelligent eyes, holding herself mo- tionless and rigid with complete confidence in this master who had never failed her before. Fabian dug his heels into the ice, but could not hang on. The drowning horse was more than a dead weight. Pres- ently it became a question of letting go or being dragged into the lake on top of the animals. With a sob the little Frenchman relinquished his hold. The water seemed slowly to rise and over-film the troubled look of pleading in Molly's eyes. " Assassins ! " hissed Laveque at the two unfortu- nate youths. That was all. When the surface of the waters had again mirrored mmmfS:'^ m^^mama^ii^^mif^g^m^j,:€3-.'ji^m^s^^ THE BLAZED TRAIL ^^ the clouds, tliev hnnloM iU ;-HtKn'^r.„;';:™ 1' -°P", W,h . Hear,. to strut back and for h Pr ' .f "^.^"^^' '""'^J f^e^an f'^^t^ the raven advanced and ?"/^' ''' ^^^^^P'^'on. at 'ts dreadfnl meal. Bv h,s tim" '"f ^^'-^J^ be^an seen the first one\s swoon un?,'"'^*'^^'-'. ^^'''eh had ether; then another; then anof, '" ""Y ''^'"^"ff'^- the brotherhood of ravens thus ?! '' & ^" '^O"'" the was at feast. ' * "^ telegraphically notified, '"Ifl iy£^^?rvifA?,^«S^K^i ii .■.i?r<«:<---:"::;i .-J*' JtiL w^^ chapter VIII m «»^i J~1ABIAN LAVEQUE elaborated the details of rf the catastrophe with volubility. # " Hee's not fonny dat she bre'ks t'rough," he said. " I 'ave see dem bre'k t'rough two, t'ree tarn in de day, but ntvaire dat she get drown ! Wen dose dam-fool can't t'ink wit' hecs haid — sacr^ Dicii! eet is so easy, to chok' dat chcval — she make me cry wit' de eye! " " I suppose it was a good deal my fault," com- mented Radway, doubtfully shaking his head, after Laveque had left the office. " I ought to have been surer about the ice." " Eight inches is a little light, with so much snow atop," remarked the scaler carelessly. By virtue of that same careless remark, however, Radway was so confirmed in his belief as to his own culpability that he quite overlooked Fabian's just contention — that the mere thinness of the ice wa& in reality no excuse for the losing of the horses. So Pat and Henrys were not discharged — were not in- structed to " get their time." Fabian Laveque promptly demanded his. " Sacre bleu! " said he to old Jackson. " I no work wid dat dam-fool dat no t'ink wit' hees haid." This deprived the camp at once of a teamster and a team. When you reflect that one pair of horses takes care of the exertions of a crew of sawyers, several swampers, and thret or four cant-hook men, you will readily see what a serious derangement their loss would cause. And besides, the animals themselves 56 'T"] THE BLAZED TRAIL tlLtTit'LVrt:^^ ]i^Z:'' ^;.^.^^-"^' beasts, gence. worth anyv^hTe Vom^ h? "^T^'''"'.' ""^ '"^^^l"" lars a pair. Thev mn.f uT] ^^'V^ "''^ hundred d.^l- training before tlLarrnf V I ^- '''"■'"' ^"'^ P^^'<-'"t log where t belonp-.: P^o,i \ ' . , ^ '*'-^ '''*-' ^^w- for sale during tlTs'eas^c^f'^'-^"'"^^^ '°^^^'^ -^" "^ver Kadway did his best. lie took thrp« ^n * out a big team of farm hor es Then it hef "" "'^''^ sary to find a dn\rr a f» . , "^^ "^ neces- cided to adva ce Bob sTrT'^'''^"''''•^"^■^^^e- "decker" havng had nfnrf "Z"' ^'"^ P^^^' ^^at year before Erkrl on T\"' ''' experience the cant-hook man vas'4rrM^7'^'' ^'^"'^ "^^ ^ ^^ar Radwav placed hinrinSfr'n-'' ^'^ ""^ ''^I'^ble. must find^a swaX":.!" ^iieTmVnfc T^r^- ^^ tol^rJ tL^Tk! o^^kil^dl^bt'-V^^^P^^^^^^^ a field of apphcation for the accur "v' hX'\ '* '?^* elhgently acquired while road mil -^ ^ '''''' '° '"" iaise stroke mirred a saw lo^ a"nd b^"^' ^°',"°^^' ^ --^.^eryeAU:^:^^-^.— ,H-- ^^ea'rch^n^ZlS "'^^ °^ ^^e same ^u,ght hinASecret of tf^^^^ '^'' ^''^ '"^ quickly each of the thhjs he saw T'^T'^-. ^^' ^'''''' ^^at -•t'-r premeditated oV^'pToS '"'''V.' ^^'^^ So he learned why and when the sawyers threw a ^*l 58 THE BLAZED TRAIL tree up or down hill ; how much small standing tim- ber tlu-y tried to fell it throuqli; what (.-oiisidcration held for the cuttiiiij of different lenf:;ths of \o^; how the timber was skilfidly decked on the skids in such a manner that the pile should not bulja^e and fall, and so that the scaler cc.ild easily determine the opposite ends of tlie same log: — in short, a thousand and one little details which ordinarily a man learns only as the exigencies arise to call in ex])crience. Here, too, he first realized he was in the firing line. Thorpe had assigned liim as bunk mate the young fellow who assisted Tom Broadhcad in the felling. Henry Paul was a fresh-complexiuned. clear-eyed, quick-mannered young fellow with an air of steady responsibility about him. He came from the southern part of the State, where, during the sunuuer, he worked on a little homestead farm of his own. After a few days he told Thorpe tliat he was married, and after a few days luore he showed his bunk mate the photograph of a sweet-faced young woman who looked trustingly out of the picture. " She's waitin' down there for me, and it ain't so very long till spring," said Paid wist hilly. " She's the best little wnnnn a man ever had, and there ain't nothin' too good for fur, chunmiy ! " Thorpe, soul-sick after his recent experiences with the charity of the world, discovered a real pleasure in this fresh, clear passion. .\s he contemplated the abounding health, the upright carriage, the sparkling, bubbling spirits of the young woodsman, he could easily imagine the young girl and the young happi- ness, too big for a little backwoods farm. Three days after the newcomer had started in at the swamping, Paul, during their early morning walk from camp to the scene of their operations, confided i him further. " Got another letter, chummy," said he, " come in s THE BLAZED TRAIL only .uo of „?S .l/cirm ic't'Sr •■' ' ""'"« '° "' .. i""„"',™" ■ " nui^ricd Thorpe, fe^r^^Lj^^^^a^kt 'lis- ^™"■- -..«t;";-; „"rce''rra7' ""' "'™ ■"= -*"-'-•-. Thorpe knew that now either U-^-A- r.r T^ i!»r work a,"r;r„"£iwt frd^c'So'„''o7.i;l7/.':f ■n.er,:\va'°.S;;;' " ^""p '"'°'" ^ p™"^««^ n,a,:; every .:{i:'-'.:re''?r'isrorrr^o„.^' '"= '™"' soberlv ' ""'''""^ °"= °' 'he otl.cr men j.Ul=^ procession n.oved in .he'"srn,n,"/,;?r^'lS;e= 1 if 1 4i .^-ifH'' ■^'■■••a'WK- i^^^ 6c THE BLAZED TRAIL 'iii-'lJ:.'.' Like crouching pumas the instruments of a man's destruction poise on the spring, sometimes for days. Then swiftly, silently, the kap is made. It is a danger unavoidable, terrible, ever-present. Thorpe was des- tined in time to see men crushed and mangled in a hundred ingenious ways by the saw log, knocked into space and a violent death by the butts of trees, ground to powder in the mill of a jam, but never would he be more deeply impressed than by this ruthless silent taking of a life. The forces of nature are so tame, so simple, so obedient ; and in the next instant so absolutely beyond human control or direc- tion, so whirlingly contemptuous of puny human ef- fort, that in time the wilderness shrouds itself to our eyes in the same impenetrable mystery as the sea. That evening the camp was unusually quiet. Tal- lier let his fiddle hang. After supper Thorpe was ap- proached by Purdy, the reptilian red-head with whom he had had the row some evenings before. "You in, chummy?" he asked in a quiet voice. " It's a five apiece for Hank's woman." " Yes," said Thorpe. The men were earning from twenty to thirty dollars a month. They had, most of them, never seen Hank Paul before this autumn. He had not, mainly because of his modest disposition, enjoyed any extraordinary degree of popularity. Yet these strangers cheerfully, as a matter of course, gave up the proceeds of a week's hard work, and that without expecting the slightest personal credit. The money was sent " from the boys." Thorpe later read a heart-broken letter of thanks to the unknown benefactors. It touched him deeply, and he suspected the other men of the same emotions, but by that time they had regained the in- dependent, self-contained poise of the frontiersman. They read it with unmoved faces, and tossed it aside with a more than ordinarily rough joke or oath. 1Hll!S^^iWiii!WHIi;&^'/!SiR»^P^^ I THE BLAZED TRAIL 6i Thorpe nnrlerstood tlicir reticence T. tr ""''-'■ '^^ ^^'t .or^TSi eJ^r^ai^;.;Z^ hoolc t:^^^:^fjll^or less to do with a cant- on the littlL *• dray.''' He sor'n" "'' f"^ °^ ^^c log lowards Christmas he l"d K^" "'"^l'^- ^'''-' '^'"^^■'<^ cant-hook man. an.i vvL he on r.Ti. !.^' ''"'>' ^'"^'-'^^nt of tmiber up the slantinl skids ^ 'H "'", '''''''' '''^^^ Rcnce counts, especially fl,.f '"^ ''''^^>'s 'ntclli- resolves into theSwica land'fh;"^'"''^^"^-^^ ^''-'h JnfT- "ivcicai and the minutely observ- On Q,,*,^ ^, =11 tl.e wild a„rmai','j, ras h' 'f""'%="J habf.s o( instinct when one of hilL ''^cmcd lo know bv ^^^^-ecoiic^l!^^:ss-r;:^^;^^^^ ftole about in the evenin" S h ^k'^m-'"''' ^^^^ ^^ey fastened on the head "one of H '^""/"^-V^ 'antern Several times they surnrin ?h 'T ^"'^ ^ "i^ck." the animals' eyes likrilfescior'/'^^r'' ^"^ «''one fire. ''*- ^^'^ scattered embers of a camp Thorpe learn '[ fo ,nnf if n ^ - , than his heart. ;.nv 'o to 1 whon'ti;' ''"-"'^'^^^ '•''^^'''^•■ ta.ned a mortal hurt from the vv. >',"'"^^' ^^^' ^"s- ^vh.te of its tail. He cvZ r^l "' "' ^''P^'^' ^"^ the ficnlt art of still huntinl vS tL'^'""''^' ''" '^'' ^'f" -t the animars throat/^ndle^rn^^;/ Cf^-^t il ■-"."■A-'MJEf:;*"' l]^ 62 THE BLAZED TRAIL a single stah at a certain point of the chest was much better for the purposes of bleeding. Antl, what is more, he learned not to over-shoot down hill. Besides these thinc^s Jackson taught him many other, minor, details of woodcraft. Soon the young man could interpret the thousands of signs, so insig- nificant in appearance and so iriportant in reality, which tell the history of the woods. He acquired tl.c knack of winter fishing. These Sundays were perhaps the most nearly per- fect of any of the days of that winter. In them the yo'"~ig man drew more directly face to face with tlic wilcierness. He called a truce with the enemy; and in return that great inscrutable power poured into his heart a portion of her grandeur. His ambition grew ; and, as always with him, his determination became the greater and the more secret. In proportion as his ideas increased, he took greater pains to shut them in from expression. For failure in great things would bv'ng keener disappointment than failure in little. He was getting just the experience and the knowl- edge he needed ; but that was about all. His wages were twenty-five dollars a month, which his van bill would reduce to the double eagle. At the end of the winter he would have but a little over a hundred dollars to show for his season's work, and this could mean rit most only fifty dollars for Helen. But the futi'.re was his. He saw now more plainly what he !iad dimly perceived before, that for the man who liuys timber, and logs it well, a sure future is waiting. And in this camp he was beginning to learn from fdlurc the conditions of success. ■;« Chapter IX rdnnL ^n''^^"^. '""'"fi^ °" section seventeen during Ihorpe's second week. It became nee 1 he pine there grew thick on isolated " island. " nf no more than an acre or so in extent 1 h i ^ if „ nsmg from the level of a mird, i 'T- ^ ''"^"^ tremendous dSlties °^ ''^' ''"''^'' '"^"P°^^d The early part of autumn had been charart*.r;«^ k a heavy snow-fall immediately after a serTes of mH? i%\ut "':;r '^f '^^^ '' ^^'^^ thTck'ness thus ov r- All the seaso'n Radway had c^Tn'ten^d^^ have caused^ dition. Even in ThJ tin "'^^'^ "^'^^ *^'s con- «prin,^-holcs "au ed endle TdlfficuTv''^ '"'"'" ^"^ a great deal of " cordurov?n^' nr .rV"^ necessitated side by side to form an ar'Sial bo tom^ "^-P^l" open some six inrhpc ^(7 bottom. Here m the awaited the first ho™ tHt^XZJl^ "l"'™"^'' "'"^ layer of snow anrthin ice r1, ""^ ""L""^'? ""e islands a road had to be" tramped '•'" '"'' "="' °' ioK?^T dating, h:yh:7.7:',r'''''^ *'-^-»M« and forth o/dra/oi^aL^brrSle' S^St ^ 1 1 i 1 64 THE BLAZED TRAIL way with his snowshocs. Early in the morning their feet were wet by icy water, for even tht 'ip;ht weight of a man sometimes broke the frozen skin of the marsh. By night a road of trampled stiow. of ;rrcatcr or less length, was marked out across the (.xpansc. Thus the blanket was thrown back from ilic warm earth, and thus the cold was given a chance at the water beneath. In a day or so the road would boar a horse. A bridge of ice had been artificially con- structed, on either side of which lay unsounded depths. This road was indicated by a row of firs stuck in the snow on either side. It was very cold. All day long the restless wind swept across the shivering surface of the plains, and tore around the corners of the islands. The big woods are as good as an overcoat. The overcoat had been taken away. When the lunch-sleigh arrived, the men huddled shivering in the lee of one of the knolls, and trie! to eat with benumbed fingers before a fire that wa-i but a mockery. Often it was nearly dark before their work had warmed them again. All of the skidways had to be placed on the edges of the islands them- selves, and the logs had to be travoyed over the steep little knolls. A single misstep out on to the plain meant a mired horse. Three times heavy snows ob- literated the roads, so that they had to be ploughed out before the men could go to work again. It was a struggle. Radway was evidently worried. He often paused before a gang to inquire now they were " making it." He seemed afraid they might wish to quit, which vas indeed the case, but he should never have taken be- fore them any attitude but that of absolute confidence in their intentions. His anxiety was natural, however. He realized the absolute necessity of skidding and bauiing this job before the heavy choking snows of 'wTrTS^^T^fT THE BLAZED TRAIL 65 that he had scizcZh^'fir » "• '"^ "'"' ''''^ neccssitv -ow-fall of the aHv au u^'^r/' L" ^'-'^ Phenomenal cutting in the woods' couM"wait ^^^^'" "°^'*- '^''« hat:^.^^noi.;ie;^:^^;!;'>;;'7 -- wou., never task carried with Tt ' Ra KvAV '''^P''"^^'^^ ^he fort, hoivever c^,,;e;l /i '^'^^^'^^^ ^^-^'- their com- perhaps they mirjh have I'" ^"'''"-" '" •"^''^^'''e that plaint after all "^J Lt ,s a 'r!:'.!".'' ^''°"J"^'^ ^^'^ ^<^"'- jack. '^^ '^ ^ ff'^^at trait of the lumber- p'rl^Tn ema-S'7no'u" h"i;a""^^;' ^'^^ -'^^-^• loved his own ease h"s }' Sf '" ''" '''^>'' ''"^ ^e blink of mornings untiMul af./'i' r\''">' '" '^''^ there could be no ob cct on ''^>'':-^ht. To this the ccok. who was 3/^^'°" "- <^^cept on the part of himself J-frthTc3°;;^^°:f^"Vo his business once he bocran it. an couM I '" '"'• ''''''^'' ''^'^^ f'n.g. But'^now he d tplaved a Ttr"^ ^'^^' -^'^^ ^'^'■^- the north wind on the pSs Oft '"^ antipathy to very well shirk tlio work em.V t "''f ^^^ ^°"^^ "ot dealof talking on th^:;^^^^^^^^^^^ did a good to Ra,1:^ .^.^:^J°[. -^^-JjJ -n-of-aSm." said h. and feet. She'll warm up a n^f T' ''' ^°'" "^-^ ^^" perhaps the wind'll 'he ' I c n ' /'i ^""'""'■'■^w. and lows bv hustlin- a li M^ . r "^'''' "f" «" yo" fef- work on the book' to !hv '' ^ ^"'^^ ^'^ ^^^X '" and , This hfp%e^/;::;^f, --;;,-,. ^ ''-"^^ <'°"^tfuny. finally Dver hung^o ' ^hern/ '^ °"' P^ ^''^ ^'^^k. 'o consult: The men tw 7"' "'• '^■'"■^'' ^'^ "^-ci once they felt muTh coTdcr ' '"^' '""^"'^^'^ "* ^°o. At Her,'5^^S;t^S^-;^^--dBaptisteTeI- wno ^xcijeu tne fjddie. "He cl ^i. 66 THE BLAZED TRAIL M freeze t'rou to bees eenside. Dat is too cole for mak* de work." " Them plains is sure 3 holy fright, ' assented Purdv. " th* old man knows it birr .]{," agreed bigj Nolan j "did vou SCO liini raniinin' .< ■ und yesterday a^kin' us if w'c found her too cold ' lie knows damn well he ouyht not to keep a man out Uiat sort o' weather." •• You'd shiver like a >\>p: in a briar path on a warm day in Julv." sai.l Ja*!. '-n Mines contemptuously. " Shut tip! " ?aid tlKV. ■ \ t.n're bani-boss. Vou don't have to be out in m* c Id." This was true. So jat '.son's i t.-rvention went for a little worse than nothinc; " It ain't lak' he has nutti.i' ' sidt s, went on Bap- tiste. " He can mak' de cut in dc nice <;!e of do fores'." "That's ri^ht," agreed Bob Stratt -n, '* they's the west half of eight ain't been cut yet." So they sent a delegation to Radway. Big Nolan was the spokesman. " Boss," said he bluntlv, " she's too cold to work on them plains to-dav. She's the coldest day we had." Radway was too old a hand at the business to make any promises on the spot. " I 11 sre, boys." said he. When the breakfast was over the crew were set to makincr .skidways and travoy roads on eight. This was a precedent. In time the work on the plains was grumbliuqly done in any weather. However, as to this Radway proved firm enough. He was a good fighter wiien he knew he was being imposed on. A man could rover cheat or defy him openly without collecting a little war that left him surprised at the jobber's belligerency. The doubtful cases, those on the subtle line of indecision, found him weak. He could be so easily persuaded that he was in the wrong. At times it even seemed that be was anxious to be I THE BLAZED TRAIL prm'cd at faii't, so caper was he to .-atrfi f.M .u just.ce of the other rr^an's attitude He he' h 'n c„* inexorably anti firmly to their u -1- on 1 !" , "i<^" tably conu'ortaI>lc days- 1 t L ■<- in 1 ' 'f''^'''' wr:.thcr no inconvenience even \ \i, • ?• ^^'^ by. hou.ver. he tighte,:;:! thl "ei;^ O^rSmv^^ dnccTSr^ ^" '"'^c "^••^t'-nintical con pu a L r" he was surprhcd at the size nf it J-L .". ,. "^^^ wo.<^cl.,i,ently and ^^IS^^'^^^r!^'.;::^::'^^ of^s.j;i:"Vi:e[rs;:r!^t^^i;f^^^--'--^p- One niornincr he came in ffom a talk with the sim i »■ goino- down home for two or three vcTks " c announced to Dvrv '•,.<^., i v\ctks, V ,,'ii 1, ^ 7 ■'^>'^'. you know mv a(liirp<;<: rirhriir"'""! ',■" ""1^ P°'"'= °f his mustache - All to la> off uay more there on account of th. weaih.r. >0 h ? ,a ::i| 66 THE BLAZED TRAIL We've simply got to get that job in before the big snows." " All rigfht, sir," repeated Dyer. The scaler did what he considered his duty. All day long he tramped back and forth from one gang of men to the other, keeping a sharp eye on the details of the work. His practical experience was sufficient to solve readily such problems of broken tackle, ex- tra expedients, or facility which the days brought forth. The fact that in him was vested the power to discharge kept th.c men at work. Dyer was in tlie habit of starting for the marsh an hour or so after sunrise. The crew, of course, were at work by daylight. Dyer heard them often through his doze, just as he heard tlie chore-boy come in to build the fire and fill tlie water pail afresh. After a time the fire, built of kerosene and pitchy jack pine, woidd get so hot that in self-defense he would arise and dress. Then he would breakfast leisurely. Thus he incurred the enmity of the cook and cookee. Those individuals have to prepare food three times a day for a half hundred heavy caters ; besides which, on sleigh-haul, they are supposed to serve a breakfast at three o'clock for the loaders and a variety of lunches up to midnight for the sprinkler men. As a consequence, they resent infractions of the little sys- tem they may have been able to introduce. Now the business of a foreman is to be up as soon as anybody. He docs none of the work himself, but he must see that somebody else does it, and does it well. For this he needs actual experience at the work itself, but above all zeal and constant presence. He must know how a tiling ought to be done, and he must be on hand unexpectedly to see how its accom- plishment is progressing. Dyer should have been out of bed at first horn-blow. One morning he slept until nearly ten o'clock. It THE BLAZED TRAIL 69 some sort of a lunch to Hn ?' ^ ^ '"'."§^-''°°"^ to get he stepped f cm the door of liTe""^'' ^T'' *''"^- ^s of two men hnrrv-^ne from llJ ?'" ^' ""^^^^ sight camp. He thouX HpT , .u°°t ''^"'P ^o the men's in the latter Sni Th ' '^^ ''""' °^ conversation fore h.m. For i^e ?est h!> ?°t'' I'' 'L^* ^^^^^ be- cold on the table ' "^ ^°°^ "^^^^ ^^ co"ld find lard tins were ^3t 1 l[n\-^i^„'?^^; ^f'^^"''' fifty-pound The eookee div^^ e M? f""^ ^/earning on the range, task of snckfuron ^ I^vS^'^" ^'^^"^ ^"^ t^e made of ilhrsfrations from rllr' ^'"^""'^ Patterns labels of canni eood^° n P P^f'r' ^"^ the gaudy ''•"s:^:;~^^^^"f-^"^'^^ The cook leased LaLr?-?r'^ ^ °^ ^''"''''"">- on readin,^; th^ 1 t " iS on • "^^? °"' '^^^"^ ^"^ ^^cnt time that he had 1 eardbMn ""^ ','''/ '"'^ ^* ^''^ ^^"^e attention. The cook /^' ?"^•"^'"['^' to vouchsafe no " I -'PPose the m ^gorju? t" he m°"\"P^""'^- suggested Dyer, still easily ^''''^' ^" time," in dl'e'e'v"' '"' '"''^ '''^ P^P^ -^ looked the scaler '•Vo^utSu^fo^nr-'"'' ^'"^ ^'^^ -°^'" -id he. he rose to the emer Jc cT W ., ^'T^''"^, Presenting. pushed back his cX'Vun and °."rn '""!'". "^ ^^''^ ^^ ^P-V'--Se to the men's'camp """"^ ^^'^ "^^^^ VVhen he opened the door a Slence fell. He could j I 11 ijf s ifc ■;wci 70 THE BLAZED TRAIL see dimly that the room was full of loungin- ^^^ ^^X^ tivC'Pain Kilt/' "Vinci^i v^^^ for recuperl was appeased, they x^cronotLJ •^^"'^'r^ ^'"S^^*" keepih- UD to fiftv fi "°t "i"f'i good. Instead of fiffurcd%va' nee/ 'ar °lhe": ^ ''^'' fi ^^^^'^-^ '^^^ cecdtd thirty - ' '""^'^ '^^"^^^ "ot have ex- did not dare ffi •' the del,n '"'"'"c -'"^ ^^"'^- He would not have^kn,, ;%Jh^;"J^;'-^f, /heir time, for he lay in Radwa/. .xoeriencc Hv ^T"" iP'^^^'" ^^is bihtiesa litde'too ™th J^^^ ^''j '^^^ responsi- was partly true In ?f ''^^.^^^'"Jorced on him. which conscieuce had co " red alll?' t' ^"°""-^ "^^"'^ ^'^'^^^ blanket excuse, "hc 1 jvcVh^^^^^ ""'-^'^ ance against Radwayf ' ^^ ^^^ ^ &"ev- !>>i S ia«3 \Z1L Chapter X T^ADWAY returned to camp by the 6th of #ir^January. He went on snowshocs over the en- M. V tire job; and then sat silently in th(; office smok- ing " Peerless " in his battered old pipe. Dyer watched him amusedly, secure in his grievance in case blame should be attached to him. The jobber looked older. The lines of dry good-humor about his eyes had subtly chani;ed to an expression of pathetic anxiety. He attached no blame to anybody, but rose the next morning at horn-blow, and the men found they had a new master over them. And now the struggle with the wilderness came to grapples. Radway was as one possessed by a burn- ing fever. He seemed everywhere at once, always helping with his own shoulder and arm, hurrying eag- erly. For once luck seemed with him. The marsh was cut over; the "eighty" on section eight was skidded without a break. The weather held cold and clear. Now it became necessary to put the roads in shape for hauling. All winter the blacksmith, between his tasks of shoeing and mending, had o^.upied his time in fitting the iron-work on eight log-sleighs v.hich the carpenter had hewed from solid sticks of timber. They were tremendous affairs, these sleighs, with run- ners six feet apart, and bunks nine feet in width for the reception of logs. The bunks were so connected by two loosely-coupled rods that, when emptied, they could be swung j^arallel with the road, so reducing the width of the sleigh. The carpenter had also built 73 THE BLAZED TRAIL . • 73 two immense tanks on runnprc i,^m- seventy barrels of wa?er and Sh h ,'"^ ""'^ '°"^^ in the bottom and re'^rVh.f V " ^"^'^^ ^^ arranged the water ZZ'rooaTklZtT,^^^^^^^^ J licse sprinklers wcro fi p.i f u ^^" °^ ^^'^ road. |rame/ork, like^h' o°pen be rf of an U^!f "^^^ tcry, dragcrcd a barrri im . "^ ^ Italian nionas- water hole to the opening, "n tr^"^'" f;'^*^ ^"-^"^ the action this forn^abL ";^Ju-'''' 'Pi"'"'^^^'-- ^^''^^^n ^ tons and resembled a movil'"h' ^^^'Shed "early two felled two big hemlocks from .T'1; P'^'' "^^" had beams for a V plow ' "'^ ^'^^^ ^^^ ^ewed The V plow was now put in action Q- u drew It down the road each L,v ! •" ^'^ ^°^^^^ driver. The machinn un ^ I superintended by a bcr of Iogs"IaT;irss^r^^rt''Ml° "" '^ ^. ""'"' Jevers, and by throwinV^fn;/ • ^' S:uided it by of the plow.^tvS^a^J!';''^,;:.^'SHt against the fans of the spirit of wner-SlS';"'''"^ '''"^ '^^'' f"" the brilliantly dressed stn?i° r "^' '^'"'"'"S: horses, yielding snow^hrown to ei^:^^^^^^^^^^ Sr', '^' ^""^"- '"ffs. and commands To rShf ' .^^^^^^"ts, warn- l>anks of snow. Behind s^refJL'"^''^'.^^^^^ ^^^^'^^ m u^ich a scant inci"ln' the'bare eart^' ''''' '^^^ hi.h° gro^md'^'The^n '"l^'J^l ^^°"^ comparativelv plunged into a deep crS-^ hi'. '''^T °^ ^ '^'^■^- 't Here, earlier in the mr eleLn S ^ ^"'^^^^" ^ills. structed, each a laJo 'of rccuracv-^tn i"' 'f" ^°"- niany swampy phces had hPPn-^'^"'^ perhaps as Peting them ^vith1ong parallel nn^'^^^'T^ " ^>' "'- difficulty began ^ ^ ^' P°'^^- ^^^ the first the'^pp^th's hi'dTo b'e^' "?' '''°^^ '^^ '-el. and gradJ.' Other again were h^^Z'T' *°,f P'"^'^^'^^^'^ and had to be ^.lldXr^Xi;;^ 1^ if :.t, 74 THE BLAZED TRAIL ■ --jf • r " corduroy " had spread, so that the horses thrust their hoofs far down into leg-breaking h"les. The exp:rionccd animals were never caught, however. As soon as they felt the ground giving way beneath one foot, t.icv threw their weiglit on the other. Still, that sort of tiling was to be expected. A ganj of men who followed the plow carried axes and cant-hooks for the purpose of repairing extem- poraneously just such defects, which never would have been discovered otherwise than by the practical ex- perience. Radwny himself accompanied the plow. Thorpe, who went along as one of the " road monkeys," saw now why such care had been required of him in smootiing the way of stubs, knots, and hummocks. Down the creek an accident occurred on this ac- count. The plow had encountered a drift. Three times the horses had plunged at it, and three limes had been brought to a stand, not so much by the drag of the V plow as by the wallowing they them- selves had to do in the drift. " No use, break her through, boys," said Radway. So a dozen men hurled their bodies through, mak- ing an opening for the horses, "Hi! yup!" shouted the three teamsters, gather- ing up their reins. The horses put their heads down and plunged. The whole apparatus moved with a rush, men clinging, animals digging their hoofs in, snow flying. Suddenly there came a check, then a crach, and then the plow shot forward so suddenly and easily that the horses all but fell on their noses. The flanging arms of the V, forced in a place too narrow, had caught between heavy stubs. One of the arms had broken square off. There was nothing for it but to fell another hem- lock and hew out another beam, which meant a day lost. Radway occupied his men with shovels in clear- ■^z^.\ :mm*: f'l THE BLAZED TRAIL 75 ing the edge of the road, and started one of his sprink- lers oyer the place already cleared. Water holes of suitable size had been blown in the creek bank by dynamite. There the machines were filled. It was a slow process. St ratten attached his horse to the chain and drove him back and forth, hauling tho bar- rel up and down the slideway. At the bottom it was capsized and filled by means of a long pole sho-kled to Its bottom and manipulated by old man Heath At the top It turned over bv its own weight Thus seventy odd times. Then Fred Green hitched his team on, and the four horses drew the creaking, cumbrous vehicle spoutinc down the road. Water gushed in fans from the open- ings on either side and beneath; and in streams from two holes behind. Not for an instant as long as the fiow continued dared the teamsters breathe their horses, for a pause would freeze the runners tight to the ground A tongue at cither end obviated the necessity of turning around. While the other men hewed at the required beam for the broken V plow. Heath, Stratton, and Green went oyer the cleared road-length once. To do so required three sprinklerfuls. When the road should be quite free, and both sprinklers running, they would have to keep at it until after midnight. And then silently the wilderness stretched forth her hand and pushed these struggling atoms back to their place. That night it turned warmer. The change was heralded by a shift of wind. Then some blue jav,<: appeared from nowhere and hciran to scream at their more silent brothers, the whisky iacks. • , . , ',^°'"' ^?. '■^'"'" said old Jackson. " The air IS kii;d o holler. ^'^HoUow?" said Thorpe, laughing. "How is 76 THE BLAZED TRAIL •' I don' no," confessed Hines, " but she is. She jest feels that way." In the morning the icicles dripped from the roof, and ahliough the snow did not appreciably melt, it shrank into itself and became pock-marked on the surface. Radway was down looking at the road, " She's holdin' her own," said he, " but there ain't any use putting more water on her. She ain't freez- ing a mite. We'll plow her out." So they finished the job, and plowed her out, leav- ing exposed the wot, marshy surface of the creek- bottom, on which at night a thin crust formed. Across the marsh the old tramped road held up the horses, and the plow swept clear a little wider swath. " She'll freeze a little to-night," said Radway hope- fully. " You sprinkler boys get at her and wet her down." Until two o'clock in the morning the four teams and the six men creaked back and forth spilling hardly-gathered water — weird, unearthly, in the flick- ering light of their torches. Then they crept in and ate sleepily the food that a sleepy cookee set out for them. By morning the mere surface of this sprinkled water had frozen, the remainder beneath had drained away, and so Radway found in his road considerable patches of shell ice, useless, crumbling. He looked in despair at the sky. Dimly through the gray he caught the tint of blue. The sun came out. Nut-hatches and wood-peckers ran gayly up the warming trunks of the trees. Blue jays Huffed and perked and screamed in the hard-wood tops. A covey of grouse ventured from the swamp and strutted vainly, a pause of contemplation between each step. Radway, walking out on the tramped road of the marsh, cracked the artificial skin and thrust his THE BLAZED JRAIL 77 foot through into icy water Tl,-,f «;„»,» .1 stayed in. ^ ' ^ "^* "'S^^t the sprinklers The devil seemed in it Tf th^ n cease before the ice bottom J\ , •' '^7 '^°"''' ""'V was destroyed- Radw v vi 'f'?V°"''>' ^""^frurrcd and the road/ Men were iv' 7.' ^"^^'•^■•^" ''*' "fii<^e and four of them fLi ^? J ''"^''''^ ''^-^^ °^ 'I'e year- The deep snow of h\^n^^^^^^^^ disappeared from ho on '^^^^^ >i--'^l now the swamp the cove- of n.r, ' '^""^f^' ^"^^'n in hope that in a f?w days m " ,f ' ^^•^'':^'^^^''"nin,^ to bare spot in the burn?n.s u ^'^' "^'^'^^ ^''■^^°^-''- a during the ni^ht. A? dm^s n\ ^r" ^'/^PPed freezing marked as hi?h as forty degre^' " ^''^'■"'-"^^^^? observes To'rL'o'leir-^T;^ ^""^^^ — 1.» was a summer resorTalf the year vtS '' ' ' '"''^ '^ tier^Stcf^^^^fi-'>;.^ofeonversa- -addening. Toutds eveniL^'' thf chH, V '"?"-' snow would deceive mnnv ;n?^*t ^_ , '" ^^ melting snap was beginning ^ '"'° *''" ^^^'^^ that a cold ful ?ommen""' '^^^'^^ "°^"'"^' ^"^^ '' was the hope- bal^t tult^V^^a":r^ ^'^ ^'^ --'^ be more weat'.er-d makr a m. i ^ ^^^"^^ him. This '•"•'■•■ -i^ bc,;^s lef?on " "''^ '"°"^''^ '° ''' the devil si^^^^-ne^j;.V^^:°^---^f 'oozing on the bright " r ^j,,. . ,; . PU'^c reaction. after- .d. ^ a"",',.'^;' ,^"'"7>' " '^ won't be so bad this ^vater Mnp a ound "^,M fi"'?;.-''"^'^^'"' ^^'^h all siie only freezes tight, we'll have a ■if: 78 THE BLAZED TRAIL good solid bottom to build on, and that'll be quite a good ri;^ out there on the marsh." The in:^crutablc goddess of the wilderness smiled, and calmly, relentlessly, moved her next pawn. It was all so unutterably simple, and yet so effective. Something there was in it of the calm inevitability of fate. It snowed. All night and all day the great flakes zig-zagged softly down through the air. Radway plowed away two feet of it. The surface was promptly covered by a second storm. Radway doggedly plowed it out again. This time the goddess s'' ' to relent. The ground froze solid. The spr ''ame assiduous in their labor. Two da. - latci u , d was ready for the first sleigh, its surface of thick, glassy ice, beautiful to behold; the ruts cut deep and true; the grades sanded, or sprinkled with retarding hay on the de- scents. At the river the hanking ground proved solid. Radway breathed again, then sighed. Spring was eight days nearer. He was eight days more behind. s^1 KfXlF Chapter XI of the road, in tlic tirHid, ,J ^ • '"^-qualities the bent knee o til r' P'''T '?^^"'''"fir atop with forestalling u;^„:!;^e^^^;;;;;^t:i;; rr^ ^"^ and an intense concentn ion fl l^?^ '*,^'^'''^ ^^^^ inch in the n.iles S he ha 7 T h '■''?-^'/ "°^ °"« fulMledged cant-hook inan ^'^^'P^' '^''^^ ^''^^^"^^ ^ the lo/aml the ll tn"^''' '''''"S stock between stops the ^oll with a '.uM ''"^ '^ ^° '^^ °^^'-'-"n; he the^ight momen to be S ' r'" ^'l'^ ^PP''^^ ^^ just lows himselMo be carrU^fn r;t-,^"r'""" ^'^^• cant-hook like an ac?oba tn^. K^^''^'' "^'."^'"S to the rolled once; vv'on hi i'° ^ ^^^ ""''' ^''^ '^S '^as lifil.tly. ca^lV to tlie ^round'^A ^^^^°P^ pile the lo^s on the sK fir.f ^ , " '/\''^'"^ ^'^ then one of six smaller- of tZ L^^'"' ^^ ^'''' '^y' at the very anex thrin'cf • ^^"'^V" °^ ^'^'°'" ""til. skids, poised, and st a it'i. i?^^'^ ''T'^' "P '^e 39 11 mkE MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 ^ I.I 1.25 2.8 1^ 1.4 12.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.6 ^ ^'PPLIED IIVMGE Inc ^^ 1653 East Mail Street S'.S Rochester. New YOfk 14609 USA '^^ (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone ^SS (716) 288 - "Sgsg - Fa« 8o THE BLAZED TRAIL weight of the logs causes the pyramid to break down and squash out ; — then woe to the driver, or whoever happens to be near! A saw log does not make a grear deal of fuss while falling, but it falls through anything that happens in its way, and a man who gets mixed up in a load of twenty-five or thirty of them obeying the laws of gravitation from a height of some fifteen to twenty feet, can be crushed into strange shapes and fragments. For this reason the loaders are picked and careful men. At the banking grounds, which lie in and about the bed of the river, the logs are piled in a gigantic skid- way to await the spring freshets, which will carry them down stream to the " boom." In that enclosure they ren^iin until sawed in the mill. Such is the drama of the saw log, a story of grit, resourcefulness, adaptability, fortitude and ingenuity hard to match. Conditions never repeat themselves in the woods as they do in the factory. The wilder- ness offers ever new complications to solve, difficulties to overcome. A man must think of everything, figure on everything, from the grand sweep of the country at large to the pressure on a king-bolt. And where another possesses the boundless resources of a great city, he has to rely on the material stored in one cor- ner of a shed. It is easy to build a palace with men and tools; it is difficult to build a log cabin with noth- ing but an ax. His wits must help him where his experience fails; and his experience must push him mechanically along the track of habit when successive buflfetings have beaten his wits out of his head. In a day he must construct elaborate engines, roads, and implements which old civilization considers the works of leisure. Without a thought of expense he must abandon as temporary, property which other indus- tries cry out at bein^ compelled to acquire as per- manent. For this reason he becomes in time different ■■■"■■ '■*■ THE BLAZED TRAIL 8l unknown but Vies "ed nnvv. \t"'^''"'>' °^ '^'^'^'^n. on the stree , "a th^':, Cnld 1 ^^^ °°^ ^^''' ^im pioneer, in vague admi-ron o °. ''' '"^ °^'^^'- thnn their own " °^ ^ "'^"P^ "lore virile could not but admire the evTrl i, anL^^ ''''^- "^ characterized the jobber Pvf ^"'mation that now quickly repaired as Ln,?.:. .-^ ,rn-^chanc.^ was as work. ^ ^' ^'°"''^ expedient could do the ies?s;o";v"?riStl'siirber'°". ^'^^^ ^'^^ -^t. every day the road had 'r u '^? ^'"^- ^^^'^V sprinklers followed thft;3°,^%P'°7d. ^"^ the Often it was bitter cold but nn". almost constantly. to the determined JobhWtha"irr^;S';'K 'V"^^^^* remain indoors The mL ^ " ^'^^^ ^^ better to the h , February towrwoufdVock^^iif^: b^ ''''. hope of extrication ^"^'^ beyond clogged rh:%;aT"!hrsnow"ol?^"'^"^ ^^^^^ ^^" teams, could hard y force ts n.Th I' "''l" ^'^'^ ^^t'-a shovels helped. Often b,'t1 f'^.^^'^'^Sh- Men with small, could be foi-ced to th/r^^"? ^^^y' ^"d they ertions of the eS crew ^^"^^^^^^^ "t"^°^t ex- The men sprang to their talk, ^t^ "^'- '''^' ^^^°^^- than an hour's exertion to t?lu^^^'''''*y' §^ave more a pride in reptSfn^th a^saJdf oYt^"^^'-^°"'-' ^^^'^ whom they nersnnJfil.^ assaults of the great enemy, Mike MccL^rn Sed ,m • '''" ^^"^'''^ "She/' he apostrophLed in a pe son'al'f ".'/°"?,'^^'^^'^ ^^^"1 He hit his head ajiinst °n!^ ^"J ^^"^'''^'- "tanner. "You're a nice wfn "ow ain't'^e'^'T^' ^•'"^^^h- ;;t the unfortunate guarS o?his sou^ "'n^' ""^''S don't quit ye! Ye seel " "^ *^ ^* 82 THE BLAZED TRAIL "Be the pate of Hivin!" he shouted, when he opened the door of mornings and discovered another six inches of snow, " Ye're a burrd! If Oi couldn't make out to be more of a saint than that, Oi'd quit the hiznis! Move yor pull, an' get us some dacint weather! Yc awt t' be road monkcvin' on th' golden streets, thot's what yc awt to be dou. ! " Jackson 1 lines was righteously indignant, but with the shrewtlncss of the old man, put the blame partly where it belonged. " I ain't sayin'," he observed judicially, "that this weather ain't hell. It's hell and repeat. But a man sort've got to expec' weather. He looks for it, and he ousrhta be ready for it. The trouble is we got be- hind Christmas. It's that Dyer. He's about as mean as they make \m. The only reason he didn't die long ago is becuz th' Devil's thought him too rn^an to pay any 'tention to. If ever he should die an' go to Heaven he'd pry up th' golden streets an' use the infernal pit for a smelter." With this magnificent bit of invective, Jackson seized a lantern and stumped out to see that the team- sters fed their horses properly. " Didn't know you were a miner, Jackson," called Thorpe, laughing. " Young feller," replied Jackson at the door, " it's a lot easier to tell what I ain't been." So floundering, battling, making a little progress every day, the strife continued. One morning in February, Thorpe was helping load a big butt log. He was engaged in "sending up"; that is, he was one of the two men who stand at either side of the skids to help the ascending log keep straight and true to its bed on the pile. His assistant's end caught on a sHver, ground for a second, and slipped back. Thus the log ran slanting across the skids in- stead of perpendicular to them. To rectify the fault, Thorpe dug his cant-hook into the timber and threw ',m: --\- 1. •*;; iViVv. THE BLAZED TRAIL 8^ hfs weight on the stnrlc u^ u to checf correspond ng^ ." a'cc'm T ,'"'' V"" Other words be tnnl- ih/J .^ °^ '^'s end. In venting sll^ 'sXia i^inrti; '" '"' ^''^' °^ ^'^^ P-"- the timber to its nronor nn • ' pressure and forcin,; the log sh-d.°The'sS Tt' rcant'hoH ' '^ '^'^T^ from his hands. He fell bark nn.f ?,'''' ^ •'^"'''^^'d c/inging for a momen 'o the ro 11'?"?'°'' ''^^^'^^ down and hit him a crushinV^bCt Ihe'top-oT^ staged a"th?Sr" end'^Lr'^" ^j? ^'^'-^ ^-" ended there. A shont nf ^''^'^P^^ ''fe would have have stopped the horse n^ir'"''^'''^^^'- horror would the heav?stick"vo\% 7a 'sl&Tac "onT,''"^^ ^'"'" = young man, who would h\\^!> " l^'"" prostrate to atoms as he lav U^th th. '^'''"P^" ^^^" ^^"""d fu-armed the slamin^ face oiZTV'^''^''''' ^''^^'^'^ Jenqfh c/his c^nt-hook Jol K ^°^''' '"terposed the held it cxactb loni enoulh to f'"'? '^'' '°^ ^"^' 't.' hi.t not so Ion- as Po crn^jf I • '^''^^hten the timber, ducked, ju.t a1 the rrrl^f ' ""''P ''"^^ 2"^ 3™: and the one o the s ds^nn 1 /"'' °/ ^^'^^^^ rumbled over place Norton, the top "trr' 7'^' ' ^'^"^ '"^^ ^^e It v.-as a f^i^ie deed mi, Vh'.^'' P'-^P^^ed for it. No one saw "t Tim TLY^ ^''''"-^/' ^"'^I^'y ^^red. without an audiencL ^'^ """^ ^ ^^^^°' ^"t'a hero thef, SdcTrried'SV;ir,tr""'^i'^'^ '"• ^^^ ^^ spoken a dozen u^rds to hi '' ^^'" ^^ ''° ''^^ "ot his few belongiX am? ^'"L'Vf,"'^"^ days gathered his satchel. Jac^porardy from the woods, ^'he poor Timber jack vvas often left broken in mind and body from causes wh.ch a little intelligent care would have ren (lered unmiportant. \yith the establishment of the first St. Mary's hos- p.ta . I t lunk at Bay City, all this wa. cI,angecP Ncnv in It and a half dozen others conducted on the same prmciples, the woodsman receives the best of medi- cines, nursmg, and medical attendance. From one of the numerous agents who periodically visit the camns hLr^rr? ^°'","?'^' ^"^"-^ ^ ^'^^^^ which adS hini ut any time during the year to the hospital, where he is privileged to remain free of further charge untU convalescent. So valuable are these institutions, and ThoTni ni -' '7 -'^''^ "^^'"tained by the Sisters that a hospital agent is always welcome, even in those camps from which ordinary peddlers and insuran-e rh?-.""' r^f^' ^^'^^"^I^d- Like a great many other Chan les built on a common-sense self-supporting ra- Cathol'^"aur"h:^"°°'^ '°^^"^^^ ^^^ -^- ^'^ ^-- sufft?n"c.' ?^ '^''' ^°'P''''' ^^°'P^ ^^y f°^ Six weeks suttermg from a severe concussion of the brain. At ^le end oi the fourth, his ^ever had broken, but he was pronounced as yet too weak to be moved His riurse was a red-cheeked, blue-eyed, homely lit- tie insli girl, brimming with motherly good-humor ! '1 M f y *l ^^ vn the current. " What is the date? " he ^skcd of the Sister. " The elevent' of March." " Isn't it early for the thaw? " "Listen to 'im!" exclaimed the Sister delightedly. "Early is it! Sure th' freshet co't thim all. Look, darlint, ye kin see th' drive from here." " I see," said Thorpe wearilv, " when can I out? " " Not for wan week," replied the Sister decidec At the end of the week Thorpe said good-by to . attendant, who appeared as sorry to see him go as though the same partings did not come to her a dozen times a year; he took two days of tramping the little town to regain the use of his legs, and boarded the morning train for Beeson Lake. He did not pause in the village, but bent his steps to the river trail. Chapter XIII r!v^S?h 1 T;'^ ^^^ "^^"^^ ^^H' ^'ff^rent from s en he had first traversed tliem. Tlicy were full of patclics of wet earth and of sunsl t^e o dark p.ne. looking suddenly worn, and of fresh preen shoots of needles, looking deliciously p ' .'^ S?;er;^;;-;-^-^^^^--odr!;;;il;'£,r-S: He followed the trail bv the river P.nttPrKoii a scoters paddled up at his approach * Bk of rm ^ice occas.onaly swirled down the diminisliim' 'ream The sunshine was clear and bright, but silvcrv ratS than golden, as though a little of the winter's ?now 1 a last ethereal mcarnation.- had lingered in "tssubT stance Around every bend Thorpe looked fof some rJ U/I"'"''^ "'"'r^" ^^^ '°^^ clown the cur! rent He knew from chance encounters with several of the men m J .,y City that Radwav was st 11 in camn which meant, of course, that the last of 1 e e Ws operations were not yet finished. Five meslu the Srn^oT'h '" "°"'^'" '''''^^'^ thisLs" on u fon rnight not be erroneous. The Cass Branch had shrunken almost to its original limits. Only here and tlicre a httle bayo.t or marsh attested recent freshens The dnve must have been finished, ever' ths early nZ ' '^'■'"" ■" ''' P*-^^^"* condition w^uld hardly float saw logs, certainly not in quantity. ^ Ihorpe, puzzled, walked on. At the ban'-ina ground he found empty skids. Eyidently the d^^vf 87 Ul .l-'-fl: '-a.^ 1 «ij' '- * ••"''•■. 88 THE BLAZED TRAIL was over. And yet cvtn to i horpc's icrnorance, it seemed incredil)le that the rcniainint; million and a half of logs had been hauled, banked and driven dur- ing the short time lie had lain in the Day City hos- pital. More to solve the prublem than in any hope of work, he set out up the lon^^'ini^ road. Another three miles 1)rouj;ht him to camp. It looked strangely wet and sodden atid deserted. In fact, Thorjie found a bare half dozen people in it, — Radvvay, the cook, and four men who were helping to '^ack up the movables, and who later would drive out the wagons containing them. The jobber showed strong traces of the strain he had undergone, but greeted Thorpe almost jovially. He seemed able to show more of his real nat.re now that the necessity of authority had been definitely removed. " Hullo, 'young man," he shouted at Thorpe's mud- splashed figure. " come back to view the remains? All well again, heigh? That's good! " He strode down to grip the young fellow heartily by the hand. It was impossible not to be charmed by the sincere cordiality of his manner. " I didn't know you were through," cxplamed Thorpe, " I came to see if I could get a job." " Well now I am sorry! " cried Radway, " you can turn in and help though, if you want to." Thorpe greeted the cook and old Jackson Hmes, the only two whom he knew, and set to w'ork to tie up bundles of blankets, and to collect axes, peavies, and tools of all descriptions. This was evidently the last wagon-trip, for little remained to be done. " I ought by rights to take the lumber of the roofs and floors," observed Radway thoughtfully, " but I guess she don't matter." Thorpe had never seen him in better spirits. He ascribed the older man's hilarity to relief over the com- pletion of a difficult task. That evening the seven N THE BLAZED TRAIL 89 dintd together at one end of the long table. The big room exhaled already tlie atmospli.-re of desertion "Not much like old times, is sl;e?" lauj,dicd Rad- way. "Can't you just shut your eyes and hear liap- tiste say, * Mak' heem de soup one tarn more for me '? She's pretty empty now." Jackson J lines looked whimsically down the barr board. " More room than God made for geese in Ire- land," was his comment. After supper they even sat outside for a little time to smoke their pipes, chair-tilted against the logs of the cabms, but soun the chii! of melting snow drove them indoors. The four teamsters played sevet.-up in the cook camp by the light of a barn lantern, while Thorpe and the cook wrote letters. Thorpe's was to his sister. " I have been in the hospital for about a month." he wrote. " Nothing serious — a crack on the head, which IS all tight now. But I cannot get home thi.s summer, nor, I am afraid, can we arrange about the scliool this year. I am about seventy dollars ahead of where I was last fall, so you see it is slow business, rhis summer I am going into a mill, but the wages f^r green labor are not very high there either," and on. \Vhen Miss Helen Thorpe, aged •seventeen, received this document she stamped her .oot almost angrilv. j'^ou'd think he was a dav-laborer! " she cried. "^Why doesn't he l-v for a clerkship or something in me city where he'd have a chance to use his brains! " The thought of her big, strong, tanned brother ci.nmed to a desk rose to her, and she smiled a little sarlly. " I know," she wtnt on to herself, " he'd rather be a common laborer in the woods than railroad manager m^the ofifice. He lo-es his out-of-doors." "Helen!" called a voice from below, "if you're 90 THE BLAZED TKML through up there, I wish you'd come clown and help me carry this rug out." The ii'irV^ cys cleared with a snap. " So do 1 ! " slic cried defiantly, " so do I love out- of-doors! 1 like the woixis at'd the fulils and tlic trees just as much as he does, only diffcicnlly; but / don't Kt't "lU! " And thus she came to feeling; rebelliously that her brother had been a little selii-h in his choice of an occui>ation, that he sacrificed her inclinations to his own. She did not guess, — how could she? — his dreams for her. She did not see the future through his thoughts, but through his words. A negative hopdessncss settled down on her, which soon her strong spirit, worthy counterpart of her brother's, changed to more positive rebellion. Thorpe had aroused antagonism where he craved only love. The knowledge of that fact would have surprised and hurt him, for he was entirely without suspicion of it. He lived subjectively to so great a degree that his thoughts and aims took on a certain tangible objectivity. — they becanie so real to him that he quite overlooked the necessity of comniTniication to make them as real to others. He assum^a imquestioningly that the other must know. So entirely had he thrown himself into his ambition of making a suitable position for Helen, so continually had he dwelt on it in his thoughts, so earnestly had he striven for it in every step of the great game he was beginning to play, that it never occurred to him he should also concede a definite out- war- manifestation of his feeling in order to assure its ... .eptancc. Thorpe believed that he had sacrificed every thought and effort to his sister. Helen was be- coming convinced diat he had considered only himself. After finishing the letter which gave occasion to this train of thought, Thorpe lit his pipe and strolled out into the darkness. Opposite the Httle office he stopped amazed. uwyy fn THE BLAZED TRAIL 9» Through the narrow window he could see Radway seated in front of the stove. F'.vcry attitude cf the man hung hstless his sitiul look of the St. JJirnard that does not un stand. " \\ hat's the matter with the hoss, anvway? " asked Thorpe in a low voice of Jackson 1 lines, 'when the sevcn-up game was fmishcfl. "Il'aint ye heard?" inquired the old man in sur- prise. *]\Vhy, no. What?" " Busted," said the old man sententiously. " How? What do you mean? " That freshet caught a million and a half be got ou» this year, ihed job, he ilon't get What I say. He's busted, him too quick. Thcy's more ^ logs left in the woods' that ca and as his contract calls for a f nothin' for what he's done." "That's a queer rig," commented Thorpe. "He's done a lot of valuable work here. ~ the timber's cut and skidded, anyuay; and he's delivered a good deal of it to the main drive. The M. & D. outfit get all the advantage of that." "They do, my son. When old Dalv's hand gets near anything, it cramps. I don't know how the old man come to make such a contrac', but he did. Re- sult^ is, he's out his expenses and time." To understand exactly the catastrophe that had oc- curred, it is necessary to follow brieflv an outline of the process after the logs have been piled on the banks. There they remain un'il the break-up attendant on 1 92 THE BLAZED TRAIL spring shall flood the stream to a freshet. The roll- ways are then broken, and the saw logs floated down the river to the mill where they are to be cut into lumber. If for any reason this transportation by water is de- layed until the flood goes down, the logs are stranded or left in pools. Consequently every logger puts into the two or three weeks of freshet water a feverish ac- tivity which shall carry his product through before the ebb. The exceptionally early break-up of this spring, combined with the fact that, owing to the series of incidents and accidents already sketched, the actual cutting and skidding had fallen so far behind, caught Radway unawares. He saw his rollwavs breaking out while his teams were still hauling in the woods. In order to deliver to the mouth of the Ca. . Branch the three million already banked, he wao forced to drop everything else and attend strictly to the drive. This left still, as has been stated, a million and a half on skidways, which Radway knew he would be unable to get out that year. In spite of the jobber's certainty that his claim was thus annulled, and that he might as well abandon the enterprise entirely for all he would ever get out of it, he finished the " drive " conscientiously and saved to the Company the logs already banked. Then he had interviewed Daly. The latter refused to pay him one cent. Nothing remained but to break camp and grin as best he might over the loss of his winter's work and expenses. The next day Radway and Thorpe walked the ten miles of the river trail together, while the teamsters and the cook drove down the five teams. Under the influence of the solitude and a certain sympathy which Thorpe manifested, Radway talked — a very little. " I got behind; that's all there is to it," he said. " I THE BLAZED TRAIL 93 I'K/ knmv ^i'^^'^^"^'^" ^he men a little; hut still, i (Jon t know. It gets pretty cold on the plains I giicss I bit off more than I could chew " . iiis eye followed listlessly a frenzied squirrel swin^- Hiff from the tops of poplars. squirrel swmg- .In'n'! 'y^^'Y^ '^ ^'"^^ 1^ ^''' '"^'^^'^f'" ^C Went On. " I dont like the confounded responsibility. Thev's too much worry connected with it all. I had a eood snuS httle stake -mighty nigh six thousand^She's ah gone now Thafd have been enough for me - I ain' t^ie kTd Vr-'"- .^"' ^''^^" ^'^^■'•^ ^^^^ '^'^^ woman and the ku . This ain t no country for woman-folks and I wanted t take little Li mv leaving that way." *' ^ ^ ^' "^^ He paused again in evident expectation of a reply A^ain Thorpe was silent P -^ * J Didn't they? "Radway insisted. Yes, they did," answered Thorpe. t I J ill 94 THE BLAZED TRAIL The older man sighed. " I thought so," he went on. " Well, I didn't go to spend Christmas. I went be- cause Jimmy brought me a telegram that Lida was sick with diphtheria. I sat up nights with her for 'leven days." " No bad after-effects, I hope?" inquired Thorpe. " She died," said Radway simply. The two men tramped stolidly on. This was too great an affair for Thorpe to approach except on the knees of his spirit. After a long interval, during which the waters had time to still, the young man changed the subject. " Aren't you going to get anything out of M. & D.?" he asked. " No. Didn't earn nothing. I left a lot of their saw logs hung up in the woods, where they'll deteriorate from rot and worms. This is their last season in this district." "Got anything left?" " Not a cent." " What are you going to do? " "Do!" cried the old woodsman, the fire springing to his eye. " Do! I'm going into the woods, by God! I'm going to work with my hands, and be happy! I'm going to do other men's work for them and take other men's pay. Let them do the figuring and worrying. I'll boss their gangs and make their roads and see to their logging for 'em, but it's got to be theirs. Do! Fm going to be a fxee man by the G. jumping Moses!" chapter XIV rHORPE dedicated a musing instant to the in- congruuy of rejoicing over a freedon. gaUd IraJ'th^P"" ^'' '"•' " ^''"^ °' ^h" I can coTct •■Su?eTBuff„'',f ""■ i"^'^' ™ power of the junior member of the firm the latter "°""^ """"' ""^^' '"" ^ ^° ^^'^ y°"? " ^^^ed h-m'ina?v'' th'.t" '"^°™^^/' ^^'^ Thorpe without pre- ng for Uie worVSnn "''"l'°r'?'>^ J^"^" ^^^'^^'^y "oth- Is^that Jruer' "' °" ''^^ ^"^^ ^^^"^^ this winter. fr,P^'\^^"^'.^ ^'^ antagonist meditatively " If it i* true, what is it to you? " he asked at lenlth'. 95 i ;l 96 THE BLAZED TRAIL " I am acting in Mr. Radway's interest." " You are one of Radway's men? " " Yes." " In what capacity have you been working for him? " " Cant-hook man," rcpHed Thorpe briefly. " I see," said Daly slowly. Then suddenly, with an intensity of energy that startled Thorpe, he cried: " Now you get out of here! Right off! Quick! " The younger man recognised the compelling and autocratic boss addressing a member of the crew. " I shall do nothing of the kind! " he replied with a flash of fire. The mill-owner leaped to his feet every inch a leader of men. Thorpe did not wish to bring about an actual scene of violence. He had attained his object, which was to fluster the other out of his judicial calm. " I have Radway's power of attornev," he added. Daly sat down, controlled himself with an effort, and growled out, " Why didn't you say so? " " Now I would like to know your position," went on Thorpe. " I am not here to make trouble, but as an associate of Mr. Radway, I have a right to understand the case. Of course I have his side of the story ," he suggested, as though convinced that a detailing of the other side might change his views. Daly considered carefully, fixing his flint-blue eyes unswervingly on Thorpe's face. Evidently his scrutiny advised him that the young man was a force to be reckoned with. " It's like this," said he abruptly, " we contracted last fall with this man Radway to put in five million feet of our timber, delivered to the main drive at the mouth of the Cass Branch. In this he was to act in- dependently except as to the matter of provisions. Those he drew from our van, and was debited with the amount of the same. Is that clear? " " Perfectly," repUed Thorpe. THE BLAZED TRAIL « 97 four .MarTa ZS'" ??' 1,'™' '"","■-'="1' -ole, ■' VVclP ••' " ' ""-'•■■^^'""J «.- conmicnlod Thorpe half, wikrunShTpi™™ ar;!,V''"^ '™'"™ ^ of any charge wlj ever " "'""S™™' JO" 6" free Ana we oueht to p-p*- w " * i t~x , ffuns! Ilcrew?iu-mn!, ';.,^''"' ""'>'• "Great We wane to get i cv r .SI- '!';""'""" ""'' """■ as to l,e aWe to clear nni nt °' '""''" "e own so Ihecloseof the sea on in,N, '■?,''"■ ^'°'"' ''"'> "" at >i« us up forrn,iL,; ':" 'laZlf '" ""'"'*^^" J*^" • an?iSt'lsrg:«i"S, „Tr;"--: ^°"«''"' T>'orpe, to a,ln,i, b„t'^it°s"you:'fa,',l[^?oo ■;*• ^ '=""' ' ™ "'"'"S easm "' '"■■"•" "^''"^ "='>■ >-'" "-e accent of sar- .-f rgte"^,i!;"r:hor.^""^ '-^ ="^ »-'■ -- anciL'TK^tlTou™"':? ^'^ '°°''™'' "-"•• ■■'? •■ Vou shots meTman ;.H f ''""■■? °"^==<^l«s." Pletion of the work r,?! " "'""■">' '"'■ ""• ™m- ;f.Rad„.ay got^i^'he L" :,• ™ '::::iTT'"'- ^i!r price. If he didn't .rJ, ■ ^F^ *° P^.v ^''m "^ he had already done I'n^n." ''^^'''PP''''^^ evervthi- a hct." ^ "'• ■^" °^'^^'" ^^ords. you made ht had 'reS^^Sr S^^Jod huml!;" ^^^^^'^^^^ ^^'>-- ^^o the security of hfs n^^,' nn '< t, ^'^"templation of riffht." ^ position. The fact stands all ''l2d^r?°r'"v^P"''' "^^o^P^ unexnertedK. " ..,i t- , Aovv let s examine a few figures. You i I ii I i^ 98 THE BLAZED TRAIL owned five million feet of timber, which . . the price of stumpag^e " (standing trees) " was worth ten thou- sand dollars." " Well." " You come out at the end of the season with three million and a half of saw logs, which with the four dcjllars' worth of logging added, arc worth twenty one thousand dollars." "Hold on!" cried Daly, "we paid Radway four dollars; we could have done it ourselves for less." " You could not have done it for one cent less than four-twenty in that country," replied Thorpe, " as any expert will testify." " Why did we give it to Radway at four, then? " " You saved the expense of a salaried overseer, and yourselves some bother," replied Thorpe. " Radway could do it for less, because, for some strange reason which you yourself do not understand, a jobber can always log for less than a company." " We could have done it for four," insisted Daly stubbornly, " but get on. What are you driving at? My time's valuable." " Well, put her at four, then," agreed Thorpe. " That makes your saw logs worth over twenty thou- c-'.nd dollars. Of this value Radway added thirteen thousand. You have appropriated that much of his w itliout paying him one cent." Daly seemed amused. " How about ttie million and ■^ half feet of ours lie appiv^priated? " he asked quietly. " I'm coming to that. Now for your losses. At the stumpage rate your million and a half which Radway ' appropriated ' Vv-ould be only three thousand. But for the sake of argument, we'll take the actual sum you'd have received for saw logs. Even then the mil- lion and a half would only have been worth between eight and nine thousand. Deducting this purely theo- retical loss, Radway has occasioned you, from the M THE BLAZED TRAIL 99 TZTl'^' ^'' f'T"^ ^°'' >''^"' >°" ^'•e still some four rail lU'nothrnl^.'^^' °^ '" ^^"^^' ^'^^^ ''''' >'^" ■■ I hat's Radway's lookout." . " in justice you should ])av him that amount Ih II ZZ^r- , ^'V''' "'"'^'^^" ^'^ owncdrti" •vcm- n to hve on. Even if you pav him five tliousand he has lost cons.deral,le, while .vGu have ^^ained" ^^ How have we gained by this bit of philanthropy' - Because you originally paid in cash for all that inr i^i^'^'^'^-T '^'^ '°8:s to the value of twenty" replied Thorpe sharply. " Besides you still own die nilhon and a half which, if you do not care to pu them m yourself, you can sell for something on th? skids.^ .n 1-°. ^-n" '"•?'''' >°""^' "1^". t'^^^ \vhite pine loes into''em.'' '^"'^ ""'"''^^ "^ ^ ^""^"^^''■- ^viJms gS ';i do." r.^plicd Thorpe, "unless you bark them- sand. \ou can find any amount of small purchasers dolhfs Tlf/;''\ ^'" ;'" ^^" ^'''-^^" ^'^^'Jy at tlree dollars. That nets you for your million and a half a httle over four thousand dollars more. Under die cr- cumstances, I do noi think that my reque t "or ^ve thousand is at all exorbitant " Daly laughed. "You are a shrewd figu.er and y°V';/;T^''''' ^^" interesting," said he. " ' ^ Thorpe ^""^ ^'''' ^^' thousand dollars?" asked "I will not," replied Daly, then with a sudden 1 ve listened o you just as long as I'm goin- to I have Radway's contract in that safe andf liv^ up t^ "•.. lu ^i''^"^ >'°" to go plumb to hell! " ^ A hat s your last word, is it? " asked Thorpe, rising. l^i! ■ ! 1 B ■ 'i 't y^ m «,- v«\ lOO THE BLAZED TRAIL " It is." u" '^i'.?,"'," "'? ^^^ ^'°^''^>' 3"^ clistinctlv. " I'll tell you what / // do. I intend to collect in full 'the four dollars a thousand for the three million and a half Mr Pa 1- way has delivered to you. In return Mr. Radway will purchase of you at the stunii.a^e rates of two dollar-, a thousand the million and a half he failed to put in Ihat makes a hill a;;ainst yuu. if niv fiourin.' is cor- rect of just eleven thousand dollars. You will nav that bill and 1 will tell you win : your contract will be classed in any court as a f;ambling contract for lack of consideration. You have no le^al st; nding jn the world. I call your bluff, Mr. Dalv. and I'll f^^ht you from the drop of the hat throuj;h every court in Christendom. " I'ij^ht ahead," advised Daly sweetly, who knew perfectly well that Thorpe's law was faulty. As a mat- ter of fact the young man could have collected on other grounds, but neither was aware of that. " Furthermore," pursued Thorpe in 'addition, " I'll repeat my oflfer before witnesses; an" But Mrs. Renwick did not know. " So Thorpe wan- dered about the maple-shaded streets of the HtUe town For the purposes he had in view five hundred S Lund^rf L t" ,"°"', '"? '"'^'^^- The remaining five hundred he had resolved to invest in his sister's com- fort and happiness. He had thought the matter v^r and come to his decision in that s.ireth-e carefu ashion so typ calof him, working over ever; Sgica rl.TTl ^^^ ?^ ^'^ "'^"'^^ fiber. So when he an a':^oii.' ?°"f '^'°".'^ ^ad already become to him an axiom. In presentmg it as such to his sister, he ,'.- tl 104 THE BLAZED TRAIL never realized that she had not followed with him the logical sKps, and so could hardly be expected to ac- cept tlie cunclubion out-of-hand. Thorpe wished to give his sister the best education possible in the circunibianccs. She was now nearly eighteen years old. lie knew likewise that he would probably experience a great deal of difiicuhy in finding another family which would afford the yuutig girl quite the same equality coupled with so few disadvan- tages. Admitted that its level of intellect and taste was not high, iMrs. Rcnwick was on the whole a good influence. Helen had not in the least the position of servant, but of a daughter. She helped around the house; and in return she was fed, lodged and clothed for nothing. So though the money might have ena jIcu Helen to live independently in a modest way for a y^ar ' so, Thorpe preferred that she remain where sh- was. His game was too much a game of chance. He might find himself ut the end of the year without further means. Above all things he wished to assure Helen's material safety until such time as he should be quite certain of himself. In pursuance of this idea he had gradually evolved what seemed to him an excellent plan. He had al- ready perfected it by correspondence with Mrs. Ren- wick. It was, briefly, this: he, Thorpe, would at once hire a servant girl, who would make anything but supervision unnecessary in so small a household. The remainder of the money he had already paid for a year's tuition in the Seminary of the town. Thusi H: 'en gained her leisure and an opportunity for study; and ^till retained her home in case of reverse. Thorpe found his sister ^.Iready a young lady. After the first delight of i lecting had passed, they sat side by side on the aircioth sofa and took stock of each other. t I' THE liLAZED TRAIL 105 Helen had developed frnm the school child to the v'omnn. She was a han.!,ome ^.r!. i)us.es.o. lu a InuJer. vvcll-roundcd fonn. deep hazel eves with th* level ^azc of he hrulher. a clean-cut patr.ci.u. faco' a:)d a thorough-o-cd neaincss of carriage that adv.r- .>c. her good blood. Altogether a figure rather rotI.er " .ou've had such a strange winter, haven t you?" ^^i^^ni^c " Vcs," he replied absently. _ Another man would have struck her younir imae- .rrat.on with the wild, free thrill of the wilderness. .tl flin^ '' tI '^ ^^'"'"^ '''■■ s>'"iP'it!iy and under. ''^.?J'"?- Tiorpe was too mu-h in earnest. 1 lungs came a little better than I thought thcv rihtlfSyV-""^' '''^ '''''" '''' ^^' "-'' ^ "-^^ ;;Oh, I'm so glad!" she cried. "Was it much?" ISO not much, he answered. The actual figures would have been so much better; " I've made ar- rangements with Mrs. Renwick to h^ e a servant girl so you will have all your time free; ..d I have paid a year s tuition for you in the Scr.iinary." "Oh!" said the girl, and fell sclent' After a time, '' Thank you very much, Harry dear," for'supper.""° '"'''''''' " ^ ^^'"^ ^'^^ ^" ^ct ready Instead of getting ready for supper, she paced ex- utcdly up and down her room y ^^ "Oh. why (IJdn'f he say what he was about?" she cried to herself. " Why didn't he ! Whv didn't he ! ' ' JNcxt morning she opened the subject a^ain Harry, dear," said she. "I have a litlle scheme, and I want to see if it is not feasible. How much will the girl and the Seminary cost? " ■ t 't i'^'O THE BLAZED TRAIL m i " About four hundred dollars." Well now, see, dear. With four hundred dollars I can live for a year very nicely by boarding with some girls I know who live in a sort of a club; and I could learn much more by going to the High School and continuing with some other classes I am interested in now. Whv see, Harrv!" she cried all mterest. " We have Professor Cargliill come twice a week to teach us Enghsh, and Professor Johns, who teaches us history, and we hope to get one or two more this winter. If I go to the Seminarv, I'll have to miss all that. And Harry, really I don't want to go to the Seminary. I don't think I should like it. I k>iozu I shouldn't." ^'But why not live here, Helen?" he asked. " Because I'm tired of it! " she cried; " sick to the soul of the stuffiness, and the glass cases, and the — the goodness of it! " Thorpe remembered his vision of the wild, w'ind- tosscd pines, and sighed. He wantc' verv, verv much to act in accordance with his sister's desires, afthough he winced under the sharp hurt pang of the sensitive man whose intended kindness is not appreciated. Tlie impossibility of complying, however, reacted to shut his real ideas and emotions the more inscrutably within him. " I'm afraid you would not find the girls' boarding- club scheme a good one, Helen," said he. "You'd find it Wduld work better in theorv than in practice." ''^ But it has worked with the other girls! " she cried. " I think you would be l)ettcr off here." Helen bravely choked back her disappointment. " I might live here, but let the Seminarv drop, any- wav. That would save a good deal." she begged. " I'd get q-:ite as much good out of mv work outside, and then we'd have all that nmncv besides," "I don't know; I'll see," replied Thorpe. "The li THE BLAZED TRAIL 107 mental discipline of class-room work might be a good thing." He had already thought of this modification him- self, but with his characteristic caution, threw cold water on the scheme until he could ascertain definitely whether or not it was practicable. He had already paid the tuition for the year, and was iti doubt as to its repayment. As a matter of fact, the negotiation took about two weeks. During that time Helen Thorpe went through her disappointment and emerged on the other side. Her nature was at once strong and atlaptable. One by one she grappled with the different aspects of the case, and turned them the other way. By a tour dc force she actually persuaded herself that her own plan was not really attractive to her. But what heart-breaks and tears this cost her, only those who in their youth have encountered such absolute negations of cherished ideas ca.i yuess. Tlien Thorpe told her, " I've fixed it, Helen," said he. " You can attend the High School and the classes, if you please. I have put the two hundred and fifty dollars out at interest for you." " Oh. Harry! " she cried reproachfully. " Why didn't you tell me before! " He did not understand; but the pleasure of it had all faded. She no longer felt enthusiasm, nor grati- tude, nor anything except a dull feeling that she had been unnecessarily discouraged. And on his side, Thorpe was vaguely woundecl The days, however, passed in the main pleasurably for them both. They were fond of one another. The barrier slowly rising between them was not yet cemented by lack of affection on cither side, but rather by lack of belief in the otiicr's affection. Helen imagined Thorpe's interest in her becommg daily more ,;* ■^ \ io8 THE BLAZED TRAIL What in the perfunctory. Thorpe fancied his sister cold, unreason- ing, and ungrateful. As yet this was but the va'^ue each 'otl^cr^tl,'- ^''^ T'' "^' ^'^^^^'^ that, bu't for each o her, they were alune m the world. Thorpe clayed his departure fruni day to dav, makinir all the preparations he possibly could at horlie. ^ I'lnally He en came on him busily unpacking a box which a dray had left at the door. He u.uvomid and aid one side a Uinchester rifle, a variety o fi 1 i^^ Hetn '"^ f "'^ f''l "^i^^-^'ll^nies of the woodsn n ? Helen was struck by the beauty of the sporting imple- " Oil. Harry! " she cried, " aren't they fine! are you going to do with them ? " ' Gomg camping," replied Thorpe, his he excelsior, ;;\yhen?" " This summer.** Helen's eyes lit up with a „_ „. ^^ nice! May I go with vou?" she cried Ihorpe shook his head. _" I'm afraid not. little girl. ^, trip a long ways from anywhere. " I'm sure I could. Try me " wlu'hi t'P^ -'"^ ^^''?^- " ^ '^'"^^^ y°" couldn't. We 11 be sleeping on the ground and going on foot through much extremely difficult country" ^^ 1 wish you'd take me somewhere." pursued Helen. 1 can t get away this summer unless you do. Why dont you camp somewhere nearer home, so I can Thorpe arose and kissed her tenderly. He vis ex- tremely sorry that he could not spend the summer with his sister, but he believed likewise that their future depended to a great extent on tliis very trip. But he Old not say so. ^ f fire of delight. " How It's going to be a hard You couldn't stand f/ THE BLAZED TRAIL 109 "I can't, little girl; that's all. We've got our way to make. ' She understood that he considered the trip too ex- pensive for them both. At this moment a paper flut- tered from the excelsior. She picked it up. A glance showed her a total of figures tliat made her gasp _ Here is your bill," she said with a strange choke m^her voice, and left the room. "He can spend sixty dollars on his old guns- but he can't afford to Kn me leave this Iiateful house" she complained to the apple tree. " He can go 'way oft camping somewhere to have a good time, but he leaves me sweltering in this miserable little town all summer. I don't care if he is supporting me He ought to. He's my brother. Oh, I wish I were a man; I wish I were dead!" Three days later Thorpe left for the north He was reluctant to go. When the time came he at- tempted to kiss Helen good-by. She caught sight of the riHe in its new leather and canvas ca'^e, and on a sudden impulse which she could not explain to her- self, she turned away her face and ran into the house Thorpe, vaguely hurt, a little resentful, as the genu^ inely misunderstood are apt to b«, hesitated a moment then trudged down the stree; Helen too paused at the door, choking back her grief. " Harry! Harry! " she cried wildly; but it was too late. Both felt themselves to be in the righc. Each real- ized this fact in the other. Each recognized the im- possibility of imposing his own point of view over the other's. I I II THE BLJZED TRAIL r Part II The Landlooker 4 nf ^ I t h Chapter XVI /;, ^\^y,d'^ect.on the woods. Not an opening of any kind offered the mind a breathin- place under the free sky. Sometimei, tlie pine groves. — vast solemn, grand, with the patrieian aloofness of the trulv great; sometimes the hardwood.- bright, mvsterious. lull of hfe; sometimes the swamps, — dark dank speaking with the voices of the shver creatures some- times the spruce and balsam thickets. -aromatic, enticing. But never the clear, open sky And always the woods creatures, in startling abun- dance and lameness. The solitarv man with the pack- straps across his forehead and shoulders had never seen so many of them They withdrew silentlv before it^.r'^'-i ^^'^;""«f. They accompanied him on either side, watching him with intelligent, bright eyes. They followecl h.m stealthily for a little distance! as t ough escorting h,m out of their own particular ter- ritory. Dozens of times a day the traveller {rlimnsed would take but a few hasty jumps, and then would wheel, the beautiful embodiments of the picture deer to snort and paw the leaves. Hundreds of birds, of vhich ne did not know the name, stooped to his in- TetT' I'Vy f^ ^'' ^PPi-o^ch, or went about their business with hardy indifference under his very e>es. hlase porcupines trundled superbly from his path. Once a mother-partridge simulated a broken ving flnttering painfully. Early one morninj the traveller ran plump on a fat lolling bear, takincr his ease from the new sun, and his meal from a pank' 113 1 f j. i t. f ' U4 THE BLAZED TRAIL stricken army of ants. As beseemed two innocent wayfarers they honored each other with a salute of surprise, and went their way. And all a])out and through, weaving, watching, moving hke spirits, were the forest multitudes which the young man never saw, but which he divined, and of whose movements he sometimes caught for a sing!' ins'ant the faintest pat- ter or rustle. It constitutcl the mystery of the forest, that great fascinating, lovaulc mystery which, once it steals into the heart of a man, has ahvavs a hearing and a longing when it makes its voice heard. The young man's equipment was simple in the ex- treme. Attached to a heavy leather belt of cartridges hung a two-pound ax and a sheath knife. In his pocket reposed a compass, an air-tight tin of matches, and a map drawn on oiled paper of a district divided into sections. Some few of tlie sections were colored, which indicated that they belonged to private parties. All the rest was State or Government land. He car- ried in his hand a repeating ritle. The pack, it opened, would have been found to contain a woolen and a rub- ber blanket, fishing tackle, twenty pounds or so of fiour, a package of tea, sugar, a slab of bacon carefully wrapped in oiled cloth, salt, a suit of underwear, ami several extra pairs of thick stockings. To the out- side of the pack had been strapped a frying pan, a tin pail, and a cup. For more than a week Thorpe had journeyed through the forest without meeting a human being. or seeing any indications of man, exccptmg ahvci} s the old blaze of the government survey. Many year.'- before, officials had run careless lines through tliv: country along the section boundaries. At this time the blazes were so weather-beaten that Thorpe ofto" found difficulty in deciphering the indications mark : ! on them. These latter slated always the section, i'. township, and the range east or west by number. THL BLAZED TRAIL 115 Thorpe had to do was to find the same fij^ures on his map. Heknew just where he was. l!y means of L suited his convenience. The map he had procured at the United States I and Ofnce m Detroit, lie had set out with the "s^m a'sST.' 1"^' 1^"^^""-^' ^"^ ^''^ P"n-se of ••lookini^- whiUi, at that time, was practically untouched Ac- cess to US mteru^r could be obtained onlv on oot or by nver. 1 he South Siiore Railro d was a^^eady en- gaged in pushing a way throu,,d, the virgin ire t but It had as yet penetrated only as far as Seney: and af cr al. had been projected more with the idea of ost'b- islnng a direct route to Duluth and the copper 7 often near the forks Oi an important stream a section whoso colonnp mclicated private possession. Legally the owners had the right only to the pine included in the marked sections; but if anyone had taken the trouble to visit the district, he uoidd have found oner- ations gomg on for nides up and down stream The colored squares would prove to be nothing but oO many excuses for being on the ground. The bull- of the pine of any season's cut he would discover had been stolen from unbought State or Government land. This in the old days was a common enough trick. One man. at present a wc;dthv and respected citizen cut for SIX years, and owned just one forty-acres I Another logged nearly fittv miHinn feet from an eighty! In the State to-day live prominent business men, looked upon as models in every way, good fel- lows good citizens, with sons and daughters proud of their social position, who. vieverthcless, made the .. Avu ^ fortunes by stea.inv Government pine. U hat you want to-day, old man ? " inquired a wholesale lumber dealer of an individual whose name now stands for domestic and civic virtue. "I'll have five or six million saw logs to sell you in the spring, and I want to know what you'll give for them." •' ^ "Go on!" expostulated the dealer with a laugh, ain t you got that fort> all cut yet ? " " She holds out pretty well," replied the other with a grin. An ofiRcial, cslled the Inspector, is supposed to re- port such stealings, after which another official is to prosecute. Aside from the fact tliat the danger of discovery is practically zero in so wild and distant a country, it is fairly well established that the old-time logger found these two individuals susceptible to the gentle art of " sugaring." The officials, as .ell as the ii8 THE BLAZED TRAIL ■ If worst came to worst, imminent, the operator lumberman, became ricli. and invt'stipation sccmc- , ^,,..a.u. could still i)urclia.se the land at k-K'al rates, and so escape trouhlo. lUit the intention to ajipropriatc was there, and, to confess the truth, the whitewashinc by purchase ncederl but rarely to be employed. I have time and aRam heard lanrllookers as'^ert tii.it the old Land Offices were rarely " on the squarr." but as to that 1 cannot, of course, venture an opinion Thorpe was perfectly conversant with this state of affairs. He knew. also, that in all probal.ilitv many of the colored districts on his map reiiresentcd firt ' engaged in steals of greater or less magnitude .0 was further aware that most of the concerns stole the timber because it was cheaper to steal than to buy; but that they would buy readily en. ugh if forced to do S3 in order to prevent its acquisition bv another Ihis other might be himself. In his exploration! therefore, he decided to employ the utmost circum- spection. As much as possible he purposed to avoid other men: but if meetings bccar-'« inevifjhie, he hope,! to mask his real intentions, .xe would pose as a hunter and fisherman. During the course of his week in the woods, he discf .cred that he would be forced eventually to resort to this expedient. He encountered quantit'ics of fine timber in the country through which he travelled, and some day it would be logged, but at present the diffi- culties vycre too great. The streams were shallow or they did not empty into a good shipi)ing port. In- vestors would naturally look first for holdings alone the more practicable routes. A cursory glance sufficed to show that on such waters the little red snuarcs had already blocked a foothold for other owners. Thorpe surmised that he would undoubtedly discover fine unbought timber along their banks, but that the men already engaged i .■ THE BLAZED TRAIL "9 sfrt>nm« r.f ;. • ", ^"^^^ i^^''. m cumiTion with must scvT^dnv'- ,''7^ "n''"'^ '''■'''' »'>^ mouth. aS so. uithnut tn.ul.IinK^ to Inmt for it o m "t rUo S ' declivity Klidcl .JL„mh r^:^ti"^ °. ^'"'^ L'riii.l.T -. r.... t ■ Ihorpc l,a,| never seen a fi ™e°/of"iTed' ',',''l-"?' 1''^'^ ^= knoii, b;"he In those days feu- people pa.d'any attention to^th. * Af''<*n' t^'* '31:* --."-> • -"- '"^ ■«->• =;iiawi«. AHHK 120 THE BLAZED TRAIL Norway, and hemlock was not even thought of. With every foot of the way Thorpe became more and mure impressed. At first the grandeur, the remoteness, the solemnity of the virgin forest fell on his spirit with a kind of awe. The tall, straight trunks lifted directly upwards to the vaulted screen through which the sky seemed as re- mote as the ceiling of a Roman church. Ravens wheeled and croaked in the blue, but infinitely far away. Some lesser noises wove into the stillness without breaking the web of its splendor, for the pine silence laid soft, hushing fingers on the lips of those who might waken the sleeping sunlight. Then the spirit of the pioneer stirred within his soul. The wilderness sent forth its old-time challenge to the hardy. In him awoke that instinct which, without itself perceiving the end on which it is bent, clears the way for the civilization that has been ripening in old- world hot-houses during a thousand years. Men must eat; and so the soil must be made productive. We regret, each after his manner, the passing of the Indian, the bufifalo, the great pine forests, for they are of the picturesque ; but we live gladly on the product of the farms that have taken their places, oouthcrn Michigan was once a pine forest: now the twisted stui.ip-fences about the most fertile farms of the north alone break the expanse of prairie and of trim " wood-lots." Thorpe knew little of this, and cared less. These feathered trees, standing close-ra ked and yet each isolate in the dignity and gravity of a sphinx of stone, set to dancing his blood of the frontiersman. He spread out his map to make sure that so valuable a clump of timber remained still unclaimed. A few sections lying near the headwaters were all he found marked as sold. He resumed his tramp hght-heart- edly. 1/ THE BLAZED TRAIL 121 p rn ?' V"""""^" P•?'"^^,^ ^^"^e upon a dam. It was a ru le dair,- -built of lo.c^s. - whose face consisted ot :..:-\^v rnitcresscs slanted up-stream, and whose sheer was made of unbarked timbers laid smoothly side by side at the required an-Ie. At present its --ate was open. Thorpe could see that it was an unusirally larp ga e, with a powerful apparatus for the raising and the lowering of it. The purpose of the dam in this new country did not puzzle hni m the least, but its presence bewildered him._ Si: h constructions are often thrown across logging streams at proper intervals in order that the operator may be independent of the spring freshets \Vhen he wishes to " drive " his logs to the mouth of he stream, he first accumulates a head of water be- hind his dams, and then, by lining the gates, creates an ar if^cial freshet sufficient to float his timber to the pool formea by the next dam below. The device is common enough; but it is expensive. People do not build dams except in the certainty of some years of logging and quite extensive logging at that. If the stream happens to be navigable, the promoter must hrst get an Improvement Charter from a board of oonlrol appointed by the State. So Thorpe knew that he had to deal, not with a hand-to-mouth-timbj^r thS en a'big'scaTf "^"'^^'"^' ^'"'^"""2: to log the country' He continued his journey. At noon he came to another and similar structure. The pine forest had Molded o knolls of hardwood separated by swamp- holes of blackthorn. Here he left his pack and pushe^I '■■lead in light marching order. About eight miles cibovc the first dam, and eishteen from the bend of the river, he ran into a " slashing " of the vear before Ihe decapitated stumps were already beginnin- to turn brown with weather, the tangle of tops and Ihnbs was partially concealed " ", tne tangle ot tops by poplar gruwlhs and wild 122 THE BLAZED TRAIL raspberry vines. Parentheticallv, it may be remarked that the promptitude with which these CTowths suc- ceed the cutting of the pine is an inex. l.cable marvel. Clear torty acres at random in the verv center of a pine forest, without a tract of ,.,;plar within an hun- dred miles ; the next season will bring up the fresh shoots. Some' claim that blue jays bring the seeds in their_ crops. Others incline to the theory that the creative elements lie dormant in the soil, needing only . - sun to start them to life. Final speculation is 1. -possible, but the fact stands. To Thorpe this particular clearing became at once of the greatest interest. He scrambled over and hrough the ugly dibris which for a vear or two after logging operations cumbers the ground. By a rather prolonged search he found what he sought— the section corners " of the tract, on which the govern- ment surveyor had Icmg ago marked the "descrip- tions. A glance at the map confirmed his suspicions, he slashing lay some two miles north of the sections designated as belonging to private parties. It was Government land. Thorpe sat down, lit a pipe, an.l did a little thinking As an axiom it may be premised that the shorter the distance logs have to be transported, the less it costs to get them in. Now Thorpe had tliat verv morning passed through beautiful timber Ivin- much nearer the mouth of the river than either t'hisror the sections further south. Why had these men delib- erately ascended the .stream? Why had they stolen timber eighteen miles from the bend, when they could equally well have stolen just as good fourteen miles nearer the terminus of their drive? Thorpe ruminated for some time without hitting upon a somtion. Then suddenly he remembered the two dams, and Ins idea that the men in charge of the river must be wealthy and must intend operalii^; on h\ THE BLAZED TRAIL 123 a large scale. lie thought he glimpsed it. After an- other pipe, he felt sure. C.J''''" Vi"''"°'''"' .''■'''■^ '"'^^^^' Somg in on a laree ih n ■' "''T^''} eventually to log the whole of rnL T'^'T"!''^''' ^''"- ^'•-^^ t'''^ '•^'•^^°" they had near Mr!; ? ^'"'''^'-'^^ f^'?"^^'*^ ^'"•'•'- '^■'■^t foot-hold, near he headwaters. Inirtherniore. located as thev were far from a present or an ii.imediatelv future civ- .hznt.on hey had felt safe in leaving for "the moment r^n ,v r -f r^c'''"''''' ^y '^'' ^'"-^^^ -'^^^ctions al- ready described. Some day they would buv all the standing Government pine in the basin; but in the meantime they would steal all thev cotild at a sufficient distance from the lake to minimize the - pens along like Thorpe, carrying a' Government map in his pocket. He runs across a parcel of unclaimed i . :!i SM 124 THE BLAZED TRAIL land already cut over. It would seem easy n lodge a complai.it, institute a prosecution against inc men known to have put in the timber. But it is almost never done. Thorpe knew that men occupied in so precarious a business would be keenly on the watch. At the first hint of rivalry, they would buy in the timber they had selected. But the situation had set liis fighting blood to racing. The very fact that these men were thieves on so big a scale made him the more obstinately de- termined to thwart them. They i ndcubtedly wanted the tract down river. Well, so did he! He purposed to look it over carefully, to ascertain its exact boundaries and what sections it would be necessary to buy in order to include it, and perhaps e^-en to estimate it in a rough way. In the accom- p' iiment of this he would have to spend the summer, a.id perhaps part of the fall, in that district. He could hardly expect to escape notice. By the indications on the river, he judged that a crew of men had shortly before taken out a dri\e of logs. After the timber had been rafted and towed to Marquette, they would return. He might be able to hide in the forest, but sooner or later, he was sure, one of the company's landlookers or hunters would stumble on his camp. Then his very concealment would tell them what he was after. The risk was too great. For above all things Thorpe needed time. He had, as has been said, to ascertain what he could ofYer. Then he had to offer it. He would be forced to interest capital, and that is a matter of persuasion and leisure. Finally his shrewd, intuitive good-sense flashed the solution on him. He returned rapidly to his pack, assumed the straps, and arrived at the first dam about dark of the lonc;^ summer day. There he locked carefully about him. Some fifty feet from the water's edge a birch knoll supported, Mi "IHE BLAZED TRAIL 12 s besides the birches, a single big hemlok. V/ith his belt ax Thorpe cleared avv?^ the little white trees He stuck the sharpened end of one of them in the bark of the shaggy hemlock, fastened the other end in a crotch eight or ten feet distant, slanted the rest of the saplings along one side of this ridge po'e, and turned m, after a hasty supper, leaving tlic rompletion of his permanent camp to the morrow. •; il ' l-i i m^^ ^m^-^-^ '->.. J*" ' ► ; " . ►■ Chapter XVII /N the morninff he thatched smooth the roof of the shelter, usinrr for the purpose the thick branches of hemlocks; placed two green spruce logs side by side as cooking range; slung his pot on a rod across two forked sticks; cut and split a quan- tity of wood; spread his blankets; and called himself established. His beard was already well grown, and his clothes had become worn by the brush and faded by the sun and rain. In the course of the morning he lay in wait very patiently near a spot overflowed by the river, where, the diy before, he had noticed hly-pads growing. After a time a doe and a spotted fawn came and stood ankle-deep in the water, and ate of the lily-pads. Thorpe lurked motionless behind his screen of leaves; and as he had taken the precaution so to station himself that his hiding-place lay down- tv-ind, the beautiful animals were unaware of his pres- ence. By and by a prong-buck joined them. He was a two-year-old, young, tender, with the velvet iust off his antlers. Thorpe aimed at his shoulder, six inches above the belly-line, and pressed the trigger. As though by enckantment the three woods creatures dis- appeared. But the hunter had noticed that, whereas the doe and fawn flourished bravely the broad white flags of their tails, the buck had seemed but a streak of brown. By this he knew he had hit. Sure enough, after two hundred vards of following the prmts of sharp hoofs and occasional gobbets of blood on the leaves, he came upon his prey dead. It is6 i THE BLAZED TRAIL ny became necessary to transport the animal to camn Thorpe stuck h.s huntin,^ knife deep into the fronrof nos; oTt'hc hr* ?';"V'-^ "^^'^' J°'"^- -'^-^h anowed It slid more easily than one would imagine. alonL' vi if X=h TI ""' '' ''''^'r ''y ^°"^^ °^h?r me hods wan which Thorpe was unfamiliar ;nt^^f^"'P. ^-^ '^i"""^'' ^''^ ^^^''■- c"t "lost of the meat nto thm strips which he sahcd an.l placed in the sun A^ fu ^''f J^'^'e 1'^' suspended over a i)ole. All these things he did hiitily, as though he mieht be in a hurry ; as indeed he was ^ At noon he cooked himself a venison ^fp^l- .r.rt Thorpe was enabled after muci, labor to "craD^avvav en .rely the hair and grain. He cu, from t ,7edge of •ho h,de a nnmber of long strip, of raw-hide but ano,med .he body of tite skin libiially with ?he brab ^.... . . -^yii I ..avv. lu uo mat every day! '" he com- mented, vvipmg his brow with the hack of his wriS ' i il 128 THE BLAZED TRAIL As the skin dried he worked and kneaded it to soft- ness. The result was a fair quality of white buckskin, the first Thorpe had ever made. If wetted, it would harden dry and stiff. Thorough smoking in the fumes of punk maple would obviate this, but that detail Thorpe left until later. " I don't know whether it's all necessary," he said to himself doubtfully, " but if you're going to assume a disguise, let it be a good one." In the meantime, he had bound together with his rawhide thongs several of the oddly shaped pine tim- bers to form a species of dead-fall trap.* It was slow work, for Thorpe's knowledge of such things was the- oretical. He had learned his theory well, however, and in the end arrived. All this time he had made no effort to look over the pine, nor did he intend to begin until he could be sure of doing so in safety. His object now was to give his knoll the appearances of a trapper's camp. Towards the end of the week he received his first visit. Evening was drawing on, and Thorpe was bus- ily engaged in cooking a panful of trout, resting the frying pan across the two green spruce logs between which glowed the coals. Suddenly he became aware of a presence at his side. How it had reached the spot he could not imagine, for he had heard no ap- proach. He looked up quickly. " How do," greeted the newcomer gravely. The man was an Indian, silent, solemn, with the straight, unwinking gaze of his race. " How do," replied Thorpe. The Indian without lurtlier ceremony threw his pack to the ground, and, squatting on his heels, watched the white man's preparations. When the meal was cooked, he coolly produced a knife, selected a clean bit of hemlock bark, and helped himself. Then he lit N THE BLAZED TRAIL ,29 "No good." said he, feeling of its texture. Thorpe lau^c^hc d. " Not very," he confessed. Uood, continued the Indian, touching hghflv his own moccasins. & fa '. »"= " V'^f fT" 'l*^' " ^^ inquired after a long silence punctuated I,y the p.uifs of fbaccj. ^ '' tentiousnciss"^^' '"'■'" "^^''^'^ '^'"^Hk- with equal sen- pause°°'''" '°"'^"^'^^ ^''^ I"^iian. after a ruminative That night he slept on the ground. Next day he tTe tin^e Tn'[ '^''^•'^- ^" .'^ '-^pe's in k.! thriialf hour " f;h H ■"' "^ ''""^'7' ^''^'''' '^'' ^"" ^^'^^ an nour iigh. He was armed with an old-fashioned smooth-bore muzzle-loader; and Th.rpe was aston- ished, after he had become better acquainted wi h his new companion's methods, to f^nd that he hunted deer V. h fine bird shot. The Indian never expected to " i. Tie i"an gazed keenly at 'ji t ..2'^:-- *^vr^ m'<*i^ '32 THE BLAZED THAU. Thorpe's recumbent figure. " Who's the othej kl- low' ' Tiiorpe held his breath; then exhaled it in a long sigh of relief. "Him white man," Injin Cliarlev was replying, "him hunt too. He mak' 'um Inick'kin." The landlookcr arose lazily and sauntered toward the group. It was part of hi's jjlan U> be well recog- nized so that in the future lie might arouse no sus- picions. II Howdy." he drawled, " got any smokin'? " "How are you," replied .uie of the scalers, eying him sharply, and tendering iiis pouch. Thorpe filled his pipe deliberately, and returned it with a heavy- lidded glance of thanks. To all appearances he was one of the lazy, shiftless white hunters of the I)ack- woods. Seized with an iii>piration, he said, " What sort of chances is they at vour camp Un a little Hour? Me and Charley's about out. I'll bring you meat; or I'll make you boys moccasins. I got some good buckskin." It was the usual proposition. Pretty good, 1 guess. Come up and sec." ad- vised the scaler. "The crew's right behind us." " I'll send up Charley," drawled Thorpe, " I'm busy now makin' traps," he waved his pipe, calling atten- tion to the pine and rawhide dead-falls. They chatted a few moments, practically and with an eye to the strict utility of things about them, as became woodsmen. Then two wagons creaked lurch- mg by. followed by fifteen or twenty men. The last of these, evidently the foreman, was joined by the two scalers. " What's that outfit ? " he inquired with the sharp- ness of suspicion. "Old Injin Charley — you remember, the old bov that tanned that buck for you down on Cedar Creek."' THE BLAZED TRAIL 133 "Yes, but the other fellow." "Oh. a hunter," replied the scaler carelessly. Sure?" The man laughed. " Couldn't be notli..!' else," he asserted with confidence. " Regular old backwoods mossback." At the same time Injin Charley was setting about the splitting of a cedar log. " You see," he remarked, " I big fricnV m-' Chapter XVIII ■i U /N the days that followed, Thorpe cruised about the great woods. It was slow busif.-jss, but fasci- nating. He knew that when he should embark on his attempt to enlist considerable capital in an " un- sight unseen " investment, he would have to be well supplied with statistics. True, he was not much of a timber estimator, nor did he know the methods usually employed, but his experience, observation, and read- ing had developed a latent sixth sense by which he could appreciate quality, difficulties of logging, and such kindred practical matters. First of all he walked over the country at large, to find where the best timber lay. This was a matter of trampmg; though often on an elevation he succeeded in climbing a tall tree whence he caught bird's-eye views of the country at large. He always carried his gun with him, and was prepared at a moment's notice to seem engaged in hunting, — either for game or for spots in which later to set his traps. The expedient was, however, unnecessary. Next he ascertained the geographical location of the different clumps and forests, entering the sections, the quarter-sections, even the separate forties in his note-book; taking in only the " descriptions " contain- ing the best pine. Finally he wrote accurate notes concerning the topography of each and every pine district, — the iay of the land; the hills, ravines, swamps, and valleys; the distance from the river; the character of the soil. In short, he accumulated all the information he could by which the cost of logging might be estimated. 134 '•^y&r-' *"■ .- t THE BLAZED TRAIL 135 The work went much quicker than he had antici- R^i ' ^^'"Jy.because he could ffive his entire atten- IZ. \ V !"J-" ^^^'^"^y attended to the commissary, with a deh^ht m the process that removed it from the category of work. When it rained, an infrequent ZZ'Z"'' '''' ''''' ^'7- '^'^^•■P^'^ ^"bber blankets before the opening of the driest shelter, and waited philosoplncally for the weather to clear Iniin Charley had finished the first canoe, and was now leisurely at vyork on another. Thorpe had filled his note-book with the class of statistics just described. He decided now to attempt an estimate of the timber, tor this he had really too little experience. He knew It but determined to do his best. The weak point of his whole scheme lay in that it was going to be impossible for him to allow the prospective pur- Thor'n An f ^ °^ examining the pine. That difficulty Ihorpe hoped to overcome by inspiring personal con- fidence m himself If he failed to do so. he might return ^y.th a landlooker whom the investor trusteed and the two could re-enact the comedv of this summer L^?,\Tu .^ :, however, to avoid the necessity. It would be too dangerous. He set about a rough esti- mate of the timber. ^ in ^hi!;ii.^^^''7 '"^""""^f ^ evidently to work up a trade n buckskin during the coming winter. Although v.!r .^"^'''"■^'^P°°' ^""^'^tJon at this time of the year he tanned three more, and smoked them In J^^^^L'^'' ^'' ';^°'^''^ ^'^^ '^°""f'-v over as carefully as did Thorpe. But he ignored the pines and oa d attention only to the hardwood and the beds of iS le creeks. Injin Charley was in reality a trapper, and he mtended to get many fine skins in this promising tT 1 ?^- "^7^^"} °" ^'^ *^""'"S ^"d his canoe- making late in the afternoon. One evening just at sunset Thorpe was helping the Indian shape his craft. The loose sac of birch-bark ^ll i.i 136 THE BLAZED TRAIL li sewed to the lonpf beech oval was slung between two tripods. Injin Charley had fashioned a number of thin, flexible cedar strips of certain arbitrary lengths and widths. Beginning with the smallest of these, Thorpe and his companion were catching one end under the beech oval, bending the strip bow-shape inside the sac, and catching again the other side of the oval. Thus the spring of the bent cedar, pressing against the inside of the birch-bark sac, distended it tightly. The cut of the sac and the length of the cedar strips gave to the canoe its graceful shape. The two men bent there at their task, the dull glow of evening falling upon them. Behind them the knoll stood out in picturesque relief against the darker pine, — the little sheUers, the fire-places of green spruce, the blankets, the guns, a deer's carcass suspended by the feet from a cross pole, the drying buckskin on either side. The river rushed by with a never- ending roar and turmoil. Through its shouting one perceived, as through a mist, the still lofty peace of evening. A young fellow, hardly more than a boy, exclaimed with keen delight of the picturesque as his canoe shot around the bend into sight of it. The canoe was large and powerful, but well filled. An Indian knelt in the stern; amidships was well laden with duffle of all descriptions; then the young fellow sat in the bow. He was a bright-faced, eager-eyed, curly-haired young fellow, all enthusiasm and fire. His figure was trim and clean, but rather slender; and his movements were quick but nervous. When he stepped carefully out on the flat rock to which his guide brought the canoe with a swirl of the paddle, one initiated would have seen that his clothes, while strong and service- able, had been bought from a sporting catalogue. There was a trimness, a neatness, about them. " This is a good place," he said to the guide, " we'll Hip I^J THE BLAZED TRAIL 137 p the steep bank with- .eerful, unembarrassed camp here." Then he tur out looking back. " Hullo 1 " he called in fashion to Thorpe and C 'ey. " Hov e you? Care if I camp here? What /ou making? By Jove' i never saw a canoe made before. I'm going to watch you. Keep right at it." He sat on one of the outcropping boulders and took off his hat, " Say! you've got a great place here! You here all summer? Hullo! you've got a deer hanging up. Are !;icre many of 'em around here ? I'd like to kill a deer isn't U?^" "^''^'" ^^''^' ^^'^ ' ^^^ °^ °"* °^ ^^^'°" "°^' u We only kill the bucks," replied Thorpe. I hke fishjng, too," went on the boy; " are there any here? In the pool? John," he called to his guide, bring me my fishing tackle." In a few moments he was whipping the poci with long, graceful drops of the fly. He proved to be adept 1 horpe and Injin Charley stopped work to watch him.' At nrst the Indian s stolid countenance seemed a trifle doubtful. After a time it cleared. "Good!" he grunted. cult?'°" ^° *^^* ^'^"'" ^^"'T^^ remarked. " Is it diffi- HmpV-^^w' practice," replied the boy. "See that riffle? He whipped the f\y lightly within six inches of a little suction hole; a fish at once rose and struck. a/.u °*^^" had been little fellows and easily handled. At the end of fifteen minutes the newcomer landed a fine two-pounder. " That must be fun," commented Thorpe. " I never happened to get in with fly-fishing. I'd like to try it sometime. ^ J\l7 \now!" urged the boy, enchanted that he wuld teach a woodsman anything. i^ \ 1 i ■ -, ■ «1 1 i rr s 138 THE BLAZED TRAIL " No," Thorpe declined, " not to-night, to-morrow perhaps." Tlie other Indian had by now finished the erection of a tent, and had begun to cook supper over a Httle sheet-iron camp stove. Thorpe and Charley could smell ham. " You've got quite a pantry," remarked Thorpe. " Won't you eat with me?" proffered the boy hos- pitably. But Thorpe declined. He could, however, see canned goods, hard tack, and condensed milk. In the course of the evening the boy appronchcd the older man's camp, and, with a charming diifidence, asked permission to sit awhile at their fire. He was full of delight over everything that savored of the wood?, or woodscraft. The most trivial and everyday affairs of the life interested him. His eager questions, so frankly proffered, aroused even the taici- turn Charley to eloquence. The construction of the shelter, the cut of a deer's hide, the simple process of "jerking" venison, — all these awakened his enthu- siasm. " It must be good to liv^> in the woods," he said witli a sigh, " to do all things for yourself. It's so free! " The men's moccasins interested him. He asked a dozen questions about them, — how they were cut, whether they did not hurt the feet, how long thcv would wear. He seemed surprised to learn that they are excellent in cold weather. " I thought any leather would wet through in the snow!" he cried. " I wish I could get a pair some- vvhere!" he exclaimed. "You don't know where I could buy any, do you? " he asked of Thorpe. " I don't know," answered he, " perhaps Charley here will make you a pair." " Will you. Charley? " cried the boy. " I mak' him," replied the Indian stolidly. 1, THE BLAZED TRAIL >39 The many-voiced night of the woods descended close about the httle camp fire, and its soft breezes wafted stray sparks here and there like errant stars The newcomer, with shining eyes, breathed deep in satis- faction. He was keenly alive to the romance, the grandeur, the mystery, tlie bcautv of the littlest things seeming to derive a deep and solid contentment from' the mere contemplation of the woods and its ways and creatures. «^J ^V^* ^° '°^'^ ^^"-'^'" ''P ^^'■'ed again and again. Uh, it s great, after all that fuss down there! " and he cried it so fervently that the other men present '^milcd- but so genuinely that the smile had in it nothing but kindliness. " I came out for a month," said he suddenly, " and I guess I'll stay the rest of it right here. You'll let me go with you sometimes hunting, won't you.^" he appealed to them with tlie sudden open-hcartedness of a child. " I'd like first rate to kill a deer." " Sure," said Thorpe, " glad to have you." " My name is Wallace Carpenter," sai ! the boy with a sudden ^unmistakable air of good-breeding. "Well," laughed Thorpe, "'two old woods loafers like us haven't got much use for names. Charley here is called Geczigut, and mine's nearlv as bad; 'but I guess plain Charley and Harrv will do " " All right, Harry," replied Wallace. After the young fellow had crawled into the sleepin- bag which his guide had spread for him over a frarrraiU layer of hemlock and balsam. Thorpe and his cnir- panion smoked one more pipe. The whip-poor-will cr.lled back and forth across the river. Down in th ■ thicket, fine, clear, beautiful, like the silver thread rf a dream, came the notes of the white-throat — the nightingale of the North. Injin Charley knocked the last ashes from his pipe. " Him nice bov! " said he. H ! - h I i-S ;: i Chapter XIX rHE young fellow stayed three weeks, and was a constant joy to Thorpe. His enthusiasms were so whole-souled; his delight so perpetual; his interest so fresh! The most trivial expedients of woods lore seemed to him wonderful. A dozen times a day he exclaimed in admiration or surprise over some bit of woodcraft practiced by Thorpe or one of the Indians. " Do you mean to say you have lived here six weeks and only brought in what you could carry on your backs! " he cried. " Sure," Thorpe replied. " Harry, you're wonderful! I've got a whole canoe load, and imagined I was travelling light and roughing it. Yon beat Robinson Crusoe! He had a whole ship to draw from." " My man Friday helps me out," answered Thorpe, laughingly indicating Injin Charley. Nearly a week passed before Wallace managed to kill a deer. The animals were plenty enough ; but the young man's volatile and eager attention stole his patience. And what few running shots offered, he missed, mainly be'^ause of buck fever. Finally, by a lucky chance, he broke a four-year-old's neck, drop- ping him in his tracks. The hunter was delighted. He insisted on doing everything for himself — cruel hard work it was too — including the toting and skin- ning. Even the tanning he had a share in. At first he wanted the hide cured, " with the hair on." Injin Chariey explained that the fur would drop out. It was the wrong season of the yc.nr for pelts. 140 M THE BLAZED TRAIL 14, "Then we'll have buckskin and I'll i?et a buckskin shirt out of it." suggested Wallace. ^ Injin Charley agreed. One day Wallace returned from fishing in the pool to find that the Indian had Aether garment, and was already sewing it to- see u'done.^ '"''^' ^ ''"'^ disappointed. " I wanted to Injin Charley merely grunted. To make a buckskin shirt requires the hides of three deer. Charley had supplied the other two. and wished to keep the yountr man from finding it out. *- J' b W^allace assumed the woods life as a man would assume an unaccustomed garment. It sat him well aiid he learned fast, but he was always conscious of it He liked to wear moccasins, and a deer knife; he liked to cook his own supper, or pluck the fragrant hemlock browse for his pillow. Always he seemed to be trying to realize and to savor fully the charm, the picturesquc- ness the romance of all that he was doing and seeing lo Thorpe these things were a part of everyday life- matters of expedient or necessity. He enjoyed them.' but subconsciously, as one enjoys an environment. Wallace trailed the cloak of his glories in frank admira- tion of their splendor. This double ooint of view brought the men very close together Thorpe liked the boy because he wa open-hearted, free from aflfectation, assumptive of no supenority, — m short, because he was direct and sin- cere, although m a manner totally different fron^ Ihorpes own directness and sincerity. Wallace on' his part, adored in Thorpe the free, open-air life,' the adventurous quality, the quiet hidden power, the re- sourcefulness and self-sufificiencv of the pioneer He was too young as yet to go behind the picturesque or romantic; so he never thought to inquire of himself what Thorpe did there in the wilderness, or indeed if '1 !,| iJf I' ' m 142 THE BLAZED TRAIL a '- he did anything at all. He accepted Thorpe for what he thought him to be, rather than for what he miglit think him to be. Thus he reposed unbounded confi- dence in him. After a while, observing the absolute ingenuousness of the boy, Thorpe used to take him from time to time on some of his daily trips tc the pines. Necessarily he explained partially his position and the need of secrecy. Wallace was immensely excited and impor- tant at learning a secret of such moment, and deeply flattered at being entrusted with it. Some may think that here, considering the magni- tude of the interests involved, Thorpe committed an indiscretion. It may be; but if so, it was practically an inevitable indiscretion. Strong, reticent characters like Thorpe's prove the need from time to time of violating their own natures, of running counter to their ordinary habits of mind and deed. It is a neces- sary relaxation of the strenuous, a debauch of the soul. Its analogy in the lower plane is to be found in the dissipations of men of genius; or still lower in the orgies of ^^'httrs out of training. Sooner or later Thorpe wa- ill . to emerge for a brief space from that iron-bound :!ence of the spirit, of which he himself was the leasi awj e.^ It was not so much a hunger for affection, as I'lc atsire of a strong man temporanly to get avyay fron. his strength. Wallace Carpenter be- came in his case the exception to prove the rule. Little by little the eager questionings of the youth extracted a full statement of the situation. He learned of the timber-thieves up the river, of their present operations; and their probable plans; of the valuable pine lying still unclaimed; of Thorpe's stealthy raid into the enemy's country. It looked big to him, — epic! These were tremendous forces in motion, here was intrigue, here was direct practical application of the powers he had been playing with. r / THE BLAZED TRAIL ,43 rea'cir^''' '^'' ^'"'^^" ^''' ^'^^''' ^'''^" ^"^ b^o^^ I ever Ik' wanted to know wliat lie could do to heln ready uneasy, not lest the boy should prove unreliable. Dut lest Ills very eagerness to seem unconcerned should arouse suspicion. '• Vou mustn't try to act an dif- ferent If the men from up-river come bv, be just as L^'r^orttT-' '' ^'^^ ^^"' -^ ^-'^ - -^-^- timber estimated? " ^ ^ ihat uill be difficult, because, you see, people don't overMT/i'f ^ '?^."°^ '■" ^ J^°^'^'"" ^^ ''^ ^'5^^'"^ look over the timber. Of course il will be merelv a ques- L ml O^'A^^'^T^'"'- T'^^"'^' '^"" ^^° themselv'es to the Land Offiee and pay their money. There won't be any chance of my making way with that. The investors uil become possessed of certain ' descriptions ' lyinff n tim country, all right enough. The rub is wm hey have enough confidence in me and mv judgm^n to |)eheve the timber to be what I represent it'" 1 see, commented Wallace, suddenlv grave That evening Injni Charley went on with his canoe buildmg. He melted together in a pot. resin and S The proportion he determined bv experiment for the mixture had to be neither hard 'enough to crack nor soft enough to melt in the sun. Then he daubed "he ^nor.r'^'" '^' ''''"^- ^^^^"^'^^ superintended the operation for a time in silence. Jl^^'''^''" w^ 'n''' ^'"^d^nly with a crisp decision new hv hr/'"' Y'" '"°" ^^"^^ ^ ''"1^ walk with me down by the dam. I want to talk with you." They strolled to the edge of the bank and stood for a moment looking at the swirling waters ' t ': ! ■Ml ■ *[ i ' i?. ! uam I *^- >44 THE BLAZED TRAIL " I want you to tell me all about logging," began Wallace. " Start from the beginning. Suppose, for instance, you had bought this pine here we were talking about, — what would be your first move?" They sat side by side on a log, and Thorpe explained. He told of the building of the camps, the making of the roads; the cutting, swamping, travoying, skidding; the banking and Iriving. Unconsciously a little of the battle clang crept into his narrative. It became a struggle, a gasping tug and heave for supremacy be- tween the man and the wilderness. The excitemeni of war was in it. When he had finished, Wallace drew a deep breath. " When I am home," said he simply, " I live in a big house on the Lake Shore Drive. It is heated by steam and lighted by electricity. I touch a button or turn a screw, and at once I am lighted and warmed. At certain hours meals are served me. I don't know how they are cooked, or where the materials come from. Since leaving college I have spent a little time down town every day; and then I've played golf or tennis or ridden a horse in tb oark. The only real thing left is the sailing. The .id blows just as hard and the waves mount just ar igh to-day as they did when Drake sailed. All the rcit is tame. We do little imitations of the real thing with blue ribbons tied to them, and think we are camping or roughing it. This life of yours is glorious, is vital, it means something in the march of the world; — and I doubt whether ours does. You are subduing the wilderness, extending the frontier. After you will come the backwoods farmer to pull up the stumps; and after him the big farmer and the cities." The young follow spoke with unexpected swiftness >nd earnestness. Thorpe looked at him in surprise. '' I know what you are thinking," said the boy, flushing-. " You are surprised that 1 can be in earnest I /] THE BLAZED TRAIL 145 about anything. I'm out of school up here. Let mc shout and play vv.th the rest of the children " J horpe watched hirn with syn,i)athctic eves, but with i.ps hat ol.stinatciv refused to say one word. A woman w.n,lc have felt rebuffed The buy's admiration l" w- Hes I, . n . "" t '''', ^"""''^'!'^"/>^ 'f'e niore manly quali- tus he had already seen m his friend. Perhaps tliis ;cai;i t him; "" '"' '''■•"■ '""'''-•>■'■" '»«- "p- Sa\ ''"'^^ .^^"'^ffe at nineteen because my father died " said he I am now just twenty-one. A large estate descended to me, and I have had to care for its invest- ments all alone. I have one sister. - that is all " >o have I. cried Thorpe, and stopped. Sim Jr' ^'1T' ''f^ not suffered." went on the boy smipl). I have done well with them. But." he cried fiercely I /.,/. ,t! It is petty and mean an.l worrv- :s:i;r^hr^^5s."^'"'^'^^-^^-^'^^^^^^* He paused. "Have some tobacco," said Thorpe. Wallace accepted with a nod "Now. Harry, I have a proposal to make to you InnV / •?'°" "'"' I'^^^y thousand dollars to buv you^ land. Let me supply it. and come in as half partner " face ^''P'''''"^" °^ ^°"^' "ossed the landlooker's " Oh please! " cried the boy, " I do want to ect in some hmg real! It will be the making of rSe?" Aow see here," interposed Thorpe suddenly, " you dont even know my name." ' ^ " J.'^^ow you," replied the boy. "\J^Lu^"'^ is Harry Thorpe." pursued the other. Mv father was Henry Thorpe, an embezzler." Harry, replied Wallace sobcrlv. " I am sorrv I n.ade you say that. I do not care "for you^nar^e- < xcept perhaps to put it in the articles of partnership. ""T+at^^, M i|6 THE BLAZED TRAIL I ^ '^r'jv' • n I t and I have no concern with your ancestry. I tell It is a favor to let me in on this deal. 1 .lon't V anything^ about lumbering:, but I've Rot eves. 1 see that bij,' timber standing up thick and tall. >' • I know people make profits m the businis^. It a question of the raw material surelv, and ycu V expr -irn'^i " ^'' as you think." intcrposcl Thorpe, remams," went on Wallace without attcn- u. iiorpe'.-, remark. " , ,nly the (iiu-stion of " ■ - oriosty," interjected Thorpe grimly. ... cried the boy hotly, " of your lettinL- mc in on a i;o. d thm^! " Thorpe considered a few moments in silence " Wallnce.' he said gravely at last, " I honesti\ do think tliat whoever poes into tliis deal with me' will make money. C )f course there's always chances against It. But 1 am going to do my best. I've seen other men fai at It, and the rea.son they've failed is because they did not demand success of others and of themselves. That's it; success! When a general comman>!ing troops receives a report on something he's ordered done, he does not trouble himself with cxcu.ses; he merely asks whether or not the thing was accomplished Difficulties don't count. It is a soldier's lutv t' t.cr- form the impossible. Well, that's the way it O'- -ht to be with us. A man has no right to com'e to nie and say, ' I failed because such and such things happmcd.' Either he should succeed in spite of it all; or he >Ii<.uld step up and take his medicine without whining. W cU I'm going to succeed!" ' The man's accustomed aloofness had gone. His eye flashed, his brow frowned, 'he muscles of his cheeks contracted under hi.^ beard. In the bronze light of evening he looked like a fire-breathing statue to that great ruthless god he had himself invoked. — Success Wallace gazed at him with fascinated admiration M ,mAmJ^^ h] THE BLAZED TRAIL H7 ''IvZ^"'-' r^^'V ^'^'^ tremulously, been tie vfc^m'<7^ ''^'"'"' " '''^■>'" ''>■ >'°" ''^ve me air. \\ e 11 ri ,„, K-;ng .v.th them a variety of th^ thiu'rt'had " I'm through with them." sai.I he. " Next tinu- T ..n\ .Ami I . lo feci that I an, au nillv in vou fellows' |Itut. ^ ou vc given me the best lime 'l ha'vc ever l.J m mv h.e, and you've reftised pavme ,t f tt moc f snis and things youVe made for me. I V fed much obliged."'' ' ^ '"'"' ''^'^'''^ '^"'^^^P^'' ^"'I nmch " Dcai't forget to come straight to me when vou m-t J^ii^P" i^ed tKv':;:i:;L^- ^-"- ^"-= f"s hand, his curls were bbwine in .'llV''''"^.'" hir^oe."'" '"'■" """^''^ '">'■' Charley, turning ,o I i if II f Chapter XX rHUS Thorpe and the Indian unexpectedly found themselves in the possession of luxury. The outfit had not meant much to Wallace Carpenter, for he had bought it in the city, where such things are abundant and excite no remark; but to the woodsman each article possessed a separate and par- ticular value. The tent, an iron kettle, a side of bacon, oatmeal, tea, matches, sugar, some canned goods, a box of hard-tack, — these, in the woods, represented wealth. Wallace's rifle chambered the .38 Winchester cartridge, which was unfortunate, for Tliorpe's .44 had barely a magazineful left. The two men settled again into their customary ways of life. Things went much as before, except that the flies and mosquitoes became tliick. To men as hardened as Thorpe and the Indian, these pests were not as formidable as they would have been to anyone directly from the city, but they were sufficiently annoy-- ing. Thorpe's old tin pail was pressed into service as a smudge-kettle. Every evening about dusk, when the insects first began to emerge from the dark swamps, Charley would build a tiny smoky fire in the bottom of the pail, feeding it with peat, damp moss. punk maple, and other inflammable smoky fuel. This censer swung twice or thrice about the tent, efifectually cleared it. Besides, both men early established on their cheeks an invulnerable glaze of a decoction of pine tar, oil, and a pungent herb. Towards the close of July, however, the insects began sensibly to dimhiish, both in numbers and persistency. X48 THE BLAZED TRAIL 149 Up to the present Thorpe had enjoyed a clear field. Now two men came down from above and established a temporary camp in the woods half a mile below the dam. Thorpe soon satisfied himself that they were picking out a route for the logging road. Plenty which could be cut and travoyed directly to the bank- ing ground lay exactly along the bank of the stream; but every logger possessed of a tract of timber tries each year to get in some that is easy to handle and some that is difficrilt. Thus the average of expense is maintained. The two men, of course, did not bother themselves with the timber to be travoyed, but gave their entire attention to that lying further back. Thorpe was en- abled thus to avoid them entirely. lie simply trans- ferred his estimating to the forest by the stream. Once he met one of the men ; but was fortunately in a country that lent itself to his pose of hunter. The other he did not see a all. But one day he heard him. The two up-river men were following carefully but noi ily the bed of a little creek. Thorpe happened to be on the side-hill, so he seated himself quietly until they should have moved on down. One of the men shouted to the other, who, crashing through a thicket, did not hear. " Ho-0-0! Dyer! " the first repeated. " Here's that infernal comer; over here! " " Yop! " assented the other. " Coming! " Thorpe recognized the voice instantly as that of Kadway's scaler. His hand crisped in a gesture of disgust. The man had always been obnoxious to him. Two days later he stumbled on their camp. He paused in wonder at what he saw. The packs lay open, their contents scattered in every direction. The fire had been hastily extinguished with a bucket of water, and a frying pan lay where it had ' '1 1 '1 I II ii^i - l'-- ,\ A ..1 i ..i.tii i| i,^S ■ -il .i.B'iS 150 THE BLAZED TRAIL > been overturned. If the thing had been possible horpc would have guessed at a hasty and unpremedi- tated flight. He was about to withdraw carefullv lest he be dis- covered when he was startled by a touch on his elbow It was Injin Charley. " Dey go up river," he said. " I come see what de row. The Indian examined rapidly the condition of the nttle camp. " Dey look for somethin'," said he, making his hand revolve as though rummaging, and indicating the ^^ " I t'ink dey see you in de woods," he concluded. IJey go camp gettum boss. Boss he gone on river trail two t'ree hour." " You're right, Charley," replied Thorpe, who had been drawing his own conclusions. " One of them knows me They've been looking in their packs for their note-books with the descriptions of these sections m them. Then they piled out for the boss. If I know anything at all, the boss'll make tracks for Detroit." ^ Wot you do?" asked Injin Charley curiouslv 1 got to get to Detroit before thev do; that's' all " Instantly the Indian became all action. " You come," he ordered, and set out at a rapid pace for camp. ^ There, with incredible deftness, he packed together about twelve pounds of the jerked venison and a pair of blankets, thrust Thorpe's waterproof match safe in his pocket, and turned eagerly to the young man. You come," he repeated. Thorpe hastily unearthed his "descriptions" and wrapped them up. The Indian, in silence, rearranged the displaced articles in such a manner as *o relieve the camp of its abandoned air. It was nearly sundown. Without a word the two iflW^^Zili^^fcSl 'U THE BLAZED TRAIL fraction in speed nor an l,,"f' ""u"' = second's thou,., ,„e Kn"°:erc" at o, ttsJ':''' ff never appeared ,o lu.rrv; ,,„, nd.her did it' ever bnfluhe ™7o'^lf ein """! """ »-l«-'ive ease. forth dcci,™l'elr \o k cp pacr%^;rs"'"','r' '° "■" no lonscr mcclrini,-, h.,, ^ ■ ''* walkinp; was comes so, a man soon'tire 'ZT'""'- ^^'''^ " '^- eqnalitics ll,e stom s , ^ Tliorpe resented the in- in™p'L'°r'^ ^-^iT -h" *'r •' '- Ip THE BLAZED TRAIL i^ I his example. Three hours later the Indian roused his companion, and the two set out again. Thorpe had walked a leisurely ten days through the woods far to the north. In that journey he had en- countered many difficulties. Sometimes he had hccn tangled for hours at a time in a dense and almost impenetrable thicket. Again he had spent a half day in crossing a treacherous swamp. Or there had inter- posed in his trail abattises of down timber a quarter of a mile wide over which it had been necessary to pick a precarious way eight or ten feet from the ground. This journey was in comparison easy. Most of the time the travellers walked along high beech ridges or through the hardwood forests. Occasionally they were forced to pass into the lowlands, but always little saving spits of highland reaching out towards each other abridged the necessary wallowing. Twice they swam rivers. At first Thorpe thought this v/as because the country was more open ; but as he gave better attention to their route, he learned to ascribe it entirely to the skill of his companion. The Indian seemed by a species of instinct to select the most practicable routes. He seemed to know how the land ought to lie, so that he was never deceived by appearances into entering a cul dp sac. His beech ridges always led to other beech ridges; his hardwood never petered out into the terrible black swamps. Sometimes Thorpe became sensible that they had commenced a long detour; but it was never an abrupt detour, unforeseen and blind. From three o'clock until eight they walked continu- ally without a pause, without an instant's breathing spell. Then they rested a half hour, ate a little venison, and smoked a pipe. An hour after noon they repeated the rest. Thorpe rose with a certain physical reluctance. The Indian :'?•■! " n %i\ THE IJLAZED TRAIL »53 seemed as fresh -or as tired -as when he started. At sunset they took an hour. Then forward again by liV"!! lu'^'^u^^'}^ ''^'^^ °^ ^'^^ "loo" '-ind stars hn?"?\ ^ ^??'!'y ^^""^'^^^ ^°'-^^^' ""^'1 Thorpe thought ho would drop with weariness, and was men- tally incapable of contemplating more than a hundred steps in advance. " When I get to that square patch of light. I'll quit " he would say to himself, and struggle painfully the re- quired twenty rods. ;' i 'c »c "No I won't quit here," he would continue, "I'll make It that birch. Then I 11 lie down and die " And so on To the actual physical exhaustion of Thorpe s muscles was added that immense mental wear- mess which uncertainty of the time and distance inflicts on a man. The journey might last a week, for all he knew. In the presence of an emergency these men of ?nZ" ^^^^%"^^^y "o; exchanged a dozen words. The Indian led; Thorpe followed. blanket too weary even to eat. Next morning sharp, shooting pains, like the stabs of swords, ran through Ills groin. ° "You come," repeated the Indian, stolid as ever V\ hen the sun was an hour high the travellers sud- denly ran into a trail, which as suddenlv dived nS a spruce thicket On the other side of it Thorpe ," ox- iThf^' m"",'' ^"^- "'^ '" ^" extensive clearing, < ted vith the blackened stumps of pines. Athwart th, lis- trmce he could perceive the wide blue horizon of Lake MKhigan. he had crossed the Upper Peninsula on . "Boat come by to-day," said Injin Charlev, indicat- mg the tall stacks of a mill. "Him no stop. You r^S' Lity to-mght Dose men, dey on dat train." Thorpe calculated rapidly. The enemy wou!^ re- ' I t :tl IH »54 THE BLAZED TRAIL 3 quire, even with their teams, a day to cover the thirty miles to the fishing village of Alunising, whence the stage ran each morning to Seney, the present terminal of the South Shore Railroad. He, Thorpe, on foot and three hours behind, could never have caught the stage. But from Seney only one train a day was de- spatched to connect at .Mackinaw City with the Michi- gan Central, and on that one train, due to leave this very morning, the up-river man was just about pulling out. He would arrive at Mackinaw City at four o'clock of the afternoon, where he would be forced to wait until eight in the evening. By catching a boat at the mill to which Injm Charley had led him, Thorpe could stdl make the same train. Thus the start in the race for^ Detroit's Land Office would be fair. " All right/' he cried, all his energy returning to him. ^ " Here goes! We'll beat him out yet! " "You come back?" inquired the Indian, peering with a certain anxiety into his companion's eyes. ''^ Come back! " cried Thorpe. " You bet your hat! " ''^ I wait," replied the Indian, and was gone. ^^"Oh, Charley!" shouted Thorpe in surprise. " Come on and get a square meal, anyway." But the Indian was already on his way back to the distant Ossawinamakee. Thorpe hesitated in two minds whether to follow and attempt further persuasion, for he felt keenly the interest the other had displayed. Then he saw, over the headland to the east, a dense trail of black smoke. He set off on a stumbling run towards the mill. ^/r n/ Chapter XXI T T^- ^'■"^^'f' 0"t of breath in a typical little mill #-y town consistnig of the usual unpainted liou..es. M. J. the saloons, mill, office, an.l general store To the latter he addressed himself for hiformation place.^ proprietor, still sleepy, was mopping out the the ?u°d" '''^' ^°'* ''°P ^'''- " '^°"'"^ '^h°'P^ ^'-''•°^s ;; Sometimes,'' replied the man somnolently. Not always? ^ " Only when there's freight for her." Doesn't she stop for passengers?" Nope." ''Su^^'u^°^^^'^^ ^'""^^ ^^'f-^" t'lere's fre-ght'" Uh, they signal her from the mill — " but Thorne was gone. a uurpe At the mill Thorpe dove for the engine room He knew that elsewhere the clang of machinery Tnd the be g ven. He found, as is often the case in north- country sawmills, a Scotchman in charge uired°^^ ^^^ ^°^^ ""^^^ ^"""^ ^'''' "loaning? " he in- Unn^"^^''" '■^P^''^'' the engineer with fearful delibera- !hat' effect'' "' ''-'" ' ^ ^'' '""'^'^^^ "^ ^'•^^^^ '« ;; Can't you whistle her in for me? " asked Thorpe this time."''' ^"'''"^'^^ ^^'^ engineer, promptly enSu-h 155 If ■ . n *■ 1 156 THE BLAZED TRAIL "Why not?" "Ye're na what a body might call freight." " No other way out of it? " " Na." Thorpe was seized with an idea. " Here! " he cried. " See that boulder over there? I want to ship that to Mackinaw City by freight on this boat." The Scotchman's eyes twinkled appreciatively. "I'm dootin' ye hae th' freight-bill from the office," he objected simply. " See here," replied Thorpe, " I've just got to get that boat. It's worth twenty dollars to me, and I'll square it with the captain. There's your twenty." The Scotchman deliberated, looking aslant at the ground and thoughtfully oiling a cylinder with a greasy rag. " It'll na be a matter of life and death?" he asked hopefully. " She aye stops for life and death." " No," replied Thorpe reluctantly. Then with an explosion, " Yes, by God, it is! If I don't make that boat, I'll kill you." The Scotchman chuckled and pocketed the money. " I'm dootin' that's in order," he replied. " I'll no be party to any such proceedin's. I'm goin' noo for a fresh pail of watter," he remarked, pausing at the door, " but as a wee item of information: yander's th' wheestle rope; and a mon wheestles one short and one long for th' boat." He disappeared. Thorpe seized the cord and gave the signal. Th . n he ran hastily to the end of the long lumber docks, and peered with great eagerness in the direction of the black smoke. The steamer was as yet conceale- ^hind a low spit of land which ran out from the wes 5 form one side of the harbor. In a moment, however, her bows ap- peared, headed directly down towards the Straits of il^^ THE BLAZED TRAIL 157 Mackinaw. When opposfte the little bay Thorpe con- tion she held her course. He began to doubt whether f^nr^'^h'' f^'^ ^ri ^^"'•^ ^'''^ b'^^k smoke poued from the funnel; the craft seemed to gather s, ced as ^he approached the eastern point. Thorpe aw ll hopes sa.hng away. He wanted to stand ifp absurdly and wave his arms to attract attention at that inipos^ s.ble distance. He wanted to sink to the p anT^s H ^Pf hy Finally he sat down, and with dSl eyes Sms ''^ ^'^^'' ^'^^'''" h''^^'^ a"d his healfld dire"ctb;^LMS"' '"^ ^"^^^ ''' ^^^^ -^^ Other men might have wept or shouted Thoroe aTp" LtIv?oTd h""''' ™P^;^-bable. commandin'g! S I ^ J'';, ^^ "egotiated briefly with the captain paid twenty dollars more for speed and the privileire of landmg at Mackinaw City. Then he slep'^ o Sght hours on end and was awakened in time to drop intfa beach of the lower peninsula. !:• li I? |l Chapter XXII rHE train was just leisurely makinpr up for de- parture. Thorpe, drcsseci as he was in old " pepper and j.alt " garments patched with buckskin, his hat a flopping travesty on headgear, his moccasins, worn and dirty, his face bearded and bronzed, tried as much as possible to avoid attention. He sent an instant telegram to Wallace Carpenter con- ceived as follows: " Wire thirty thousand my order care Land OfTico, Detroit, before nine o'clock to-morrow morning. Do it if you have to rustle all night. Important." Then he took a seat in the baggage car on a pile of boxes and philosophically waited for the train to start. He knew that sooner or later the man, provided he were on the train, would stroll through the car, and he wanted to be (uit of the way. The baggage man proved friendly, so Thorpe chatted with him until after bed- time. Then he entered the smoking car and waited patiently for morning. So far the afTair had gone very well. It had depended on personal exertions, and he had made it go. Now he was forced to rely on outward circumstances. He argued that the up-river man would have first to make his financial arrangements before he could buv in the land, and this would give the landlooker a ch'ance to get in ahead at the office. There would probably be no difficulty about that. The man suspected nothing. But Thorpe had to confess himself '.'arfully uneasy about his own financial arrangements. That was the rub. Wallace Carpenter had been sincere enough in X5« li. THE BLAZED TRAIL »59 accslomcl life" Art fiZ ?h"' '" "'.' '"'">■ °' ^^ uninip.T>c' passed the curb they hai ed a cab .irr''^'^' '''^''^'''' -\' with satisfactLn 1 S^-d them ta I fh?nV^'^/ P^'-f^^ It was still two iK^i/r befo e , e lanToi" ^''''\ , be open. Thorpe a c breikfi f nM: °'^" '''^"''' 'lered slowly u,^ fefferlof Avenu 'to ?Vo T' 7"" strancfe p ecc of our rnnnfr,-' ,■ ^°.^^Of Iward, a surroundinrs. ie was 2 V"'''"^^''''^ '" "^^^ern thoughts that for sor^e ir^°e he'reSv' f '^ '""^ °^" of the attention he was attTacHn:'"?L"er ""'^^^-'^"^ ne tclt .hat everyone was staring at hlrii Vh;^hour w^ 1 1 jfl 'li fi •f i 160 THE BLAZED TRAIL i early, so that few besides the workinc: classes were abroad, but he passed one lady driving leisurely to an early train whose frank scrutin}- brought him to him- self. He became conscious that his broad hat was weather-soiled and limp, that his flannel shirt was faded, that his " pepper and salt " trousers were patched, that moccasins must seem as anachronistic as chain mail. It abashed him. He could not know that it was all wild and picturesque, that his straight and muscular figure moved with a grace quite its own ard the woods", that the bronze of his skin contrasted splendidly with the clearness of his eye, that his whole bearing expressed the serene power that comes only from the confidence of battle. The woman in the car- riage saw it, however. " He is magnificent! " she cried. " I thought such men had died with Cooper! " Thorpe whirled sharp on his heel and returned at once to a boarding-house off Fort Street, where he had *' outfitted " three months before. There he reclaimed his valise, shaved, clothed himself in linen and cheviot once more, and sauntered slowly over to the Land Office to await its opening. Chapter XXIII ■; k neither of the partners had liorpc entered the office and ap- he A^ nine o'c y4# appeared. ^ J. proachr,' the icsk . " is there ii i< n^x-^.n here for Harry Thorpe inqu'.red. *^ The clerk to ,-h(,,.. h ■ ald.css.d himself merely mofoned with h=^ In ..: , ward a you„. fellow 1> hind e ra.hnp m a n .. •' i,, letter. uTthot.t awaiting the question, shuitd coMionaoly an.l replied: ^ J\o. ' At the same instant steps w. ;c heard in the corridor ?n -^ITtT^' '"? MrMorrison appear. ! on the made ^""^^ showed the stuff of which he v,-.s h.'/cl^'l'l*^^'^,?'' ^°'' ^">^'"& Government lan^' ' ne asked hurnedl\. '' Yes," replied the clerk." ;; I have some descriptions I wish to buy in " Tt^rfrir ••, !;'';''"'' ^^^ ^^'''^^ "^^''^^ township^' Good mornin.e:, Mr. Smithers." it said with the deliberation of the consciouslv grkit man '' I h ve peninsu?a.'"^''°"' ^ ''°"''^ '^'^' '° ^">' '" ^^^ "^^^^^"^ anen^dTJ^v";f'"i"^k'^''- ^^°^^'^""- Archie there wiU attend to yixx. Archie, see wiiat Mr. Morrison wishes " I6i fir l62 THE BLAZED TRAIL ti ' The lumberman and the other clerk consulted in a low voice, after which the official turned to fumble among the records. Not finding what he wanted, he appioachcd Smithers. A whispered consultation en- sued between these two. Then Smithers called: " Take a seat, Mr. Morrison. This gentleman is looking over these townships, and will have finished in a few minutes." Morrison's eye suddenly became uneasy. " I am somewhat busy this morning," he objected with a shade of command in his voice. " If this gentleman ? " suggested the clerk deli- cately. " I am sorry," put in Thorpe with brevity, " my time, too, is valuable." Morrison looked at him sharply. " My deal is a big one," he snapped. " I can prob- ablv arrange with this gentleman to let him have his farm." " I claim precedence," replied Thorpe calmly. " Well," said Morrison swift as light, "I'll tell you. Smithers. I'll leave my list of descriptions and a check with you. Give me a receipt, and mark my lands off after you've finished with this geniloman." Now Government and Slate lands are the property of the man who pays for them. Although the clerk's receipt might not j;ive Morrison a valid claim; never- theless it would afford basis for a lawsuit. Thorpe saw the trap, and interposed. " Hold on," lie interrupted, " I claim precedence. You can give no receii t for any land in these town- ships until after my ijiisincss is transacted. I have reason to believe that this gentleman and myself are both after the same descriptions." " What! " shouted Morrison, assuming surprise. " You will have to await your turn, Mr. Morrison,'' said the clerk, virtuous before so many witnesses. »■ a THE BLAZED TRAIL 163 melt* ^"^'"^" ^^^ ^^^ ^" * white rage of excite- " I insist on my application being filed at once' " he cried waving h.s check. " I have the money right he e to pay for every acre of it ; and if I know the Taw. the first man to pay takes the land " He slapped the check down on the rail, and hit it a number of times with the flat of his hand. Thoroe turned and faced him with a steel look in his level "Mr. Morrison," he said, "you are quite right. The first man who pays gets the land; but I have won kfe .?n\u^"T- u ^'\ ^°" ^^'" '^'"^"y ^tep Te here." "'^ "''""'' '"'^'^ ^^'- ^mithers c ■V.u^P?"^,^ ^°" ^^^"^ *h^ ^"iO""t actually with you " nn. M '['J^' ^"'^f respectfully, " because if vouSe not, Mr. Morrison's claim will take precedence." I would hardly have any business in a land office. dictation of the description as calmly as though his mside pocket contained the required 'amount in^ank at the matter dispassionately, why should he exoect su7^"uZT' ^^-^- ^t-n--, with so larg'e a de^ce of th. fi'ifr "^^^"^s^- OnJy the blind confi- dence of the fighting man led him further into the s ruggle. Another would have given up woukl have stepped aside from the path of thfs bona-fide purcliasl with the money in his hand. ^ '"^"dser 1..=; o '^^m'P^ "^^'."^ ^^^ '^'"^ that hangs on umil the last poss.ble second, not so much in the expectat on of winning as in sheer reluctance to yield^Such i^en shoo their last cartridge before su^rrenderrng swim the last ounce of strength from their arms^ befor^ throwing them up to sink, search coolly until the latest ■r ,' ', m 164 THE BLAZED TRAIL I' i Pi moment for a way from the burning building, — and sometimes come face to face with miracles. Thorpe's descriptions were contained in the battered httle note-book he had carried with him in the woods. For each piece of land first there came the township described by latitude and east-and-west range. After this generic description followed another figure rep- resenting the section of that particular district. So 49— 17 W — 8, meant section 8, of the township on range 49 north, 17 west. If Thorpe wished to pur- chase the whole section, that description would suffice. On the other hand, if he wished to buv only one fortv, he described its position in the quarter-section. Thus f u~'^'^^ 49—17 — 8, meant the southwest fortv of the northwest quarter of section 8 in the township already described. The clerk marked across each square of his map as Thorpe read them, the date and the purchaser's name. In his note-book Thorpe had, of course, ent. -ed the briefest description possible. Now, in dictating to the clerk, he conceived the idea of specifying each sub- division. This gained some time. Instead of saying simply, ' Northwest quarter of section 8," he made of It four separate descriptions, as follows: — Northwest quarter of northwest quarter; northeast of northwest quarter; southwest of northwest quarter; and south- east of northwest quarter. He was not so foolish as to read the descriptions in succession, but so scattered them that the clerk, put- ting down the figures mechanically, had no idea of the amount of unnecessary work he was doing The minute hands of the clock dragged around. Thorpe droned down the long column. The clerk scratched industriously, repeating in a half voice each descrip- tion as it was transcribed. At length the task was finished. It became neccs- THE BLAZED TRAIL 165 •ary to type duplicate lists of the descriptions. While the somnolent youth finished this task, Thorpe listened tor the messenger boy on the stairs. A faint slam was heard outside the rickety old build- mg Hasty .steps sounded along the corridor The landlooker merely stopped the drumming of his fingers on the broad arm of the chair. The door flew open, and Wallace Carpenter walked quickly to him Ihorpe's face lighted up as he rose to greet his part- ner. Ihe boy had not forgotten their compact after "Then it's all right?" queried the latter breath- lessly. good Tape.""''""'"'^ '^^°'"P' ^'"■'"^' " ^°* '""^ »" At the same time he was drawing the youth bevond the vigilant watchfulness of Mr. Morrison ''You're just in time," he said in an undertone. Never had so close a squeak. I suppose you have cash or a certified check: that's all they'll take here." ^ Uhat do you mean?" asked Carpenter blankly, as i hawk * ^°" money?" returned Thorpe quick " For Heaven's sake, isn't it here? " cried Wallace in consternation " I wired Duncan, my banker, here ast nigh , and received a reply from him. He answered .\r \^. ^^^ ^° '^- Haven't you seen him?" No, repeated Thorpe in his turn. What can we do?" handS^'" ^°" ^^^ ^^"'^ ^^^'^^ certified here near at '* Yes." " Well, go do it. And ger a move on you. You have precisely until that boy there finishes clicking that machine. Not a second longer." ii &",/ ^'°n ^^^ ^''^"^ ^° ^^'^'^ ^ ^ew minutes?" Wallace, said Thorpe, " do you sec that whitc- #1 i66 THE BLAZED TRAIL the ri^n \ -''"'' '" ^^^ '^°'"^'"- That's Morrison, the man who wants to get our land. If I fail to plank down the cash the very instant it is demanded he gets his chance. And he'll take it. Now, ko. DoA't hSrry until you get beyond the door: then flyi " ^ 1 horpe sat down again in his broad-armed chair and bbc£l,vav 'He""'"%- /'■'" "^^^^^^ 1-nk wa^six mocks away He counted over m his mind the steps nivMT?''' P'^^r'^'^ "°^^ ^° the door, now in the next block, now so far beyond. He had just e^cor ed Srokrin'on'him.^^ ''' '^^'' ^^'^^^ ^'^ ^^^^^^^ " Now," Sn.ithers was saying, " I'll give vou a rp- t'h? i ?' '^'T'T'' ^"^' '''^' '^' '^^'"^ to you^r address the title deeds of the descriptions " auuress Carpenter had yet to find the proper official to Identify himself, to certify the check, and rreturn render. °'''''' '^'"'"P^ ^^^°PP^^ ^i's hands in su": Then he saw the boy lay the two typed lists before his principal, and dimly he perceived that the vouth shamefacedly, was holding Lmcthing bulky toward h.nH\^T'''^^l'' 't- " he Stammered, drawin- his hand back as though from a red-hot iron " stubboTnlv ri T ^T ^ ''^'^'^^'" ^^aid the boy *'andTi&nV • °"^\ 'T"-^' t" ^'^^'"^<^ himself, and 1 didn t just catch the name, anvwav WIkm Jhi?he"e.''" '""' '''' ' "^^ '^ cop3.V\You^it'o; ^^^'•^WhereVl you get it .> " asked Thorpe breath- " A feIlo^v came here earlv and left it for you while I was sweeping out," explained tlie boy. " Said V 1 ad to ca^ch a train. It's your, all right^in't i ' " Oh, yes," replied Thorpe He took the envelope and walked uncertai-ly to the THE BLAZED TRAIL ,67 iii' ( I Chapter XXIV i f 7t TOW that the strain was over, Thorpe expe- / 1/ '■'^"'^^'^ ^ great weariness. The long journey X. T through the forest, his sleepless night on the train, the mental alertness of playing the game with shrewd foes, — all these stretched his fibers out one by one and left them limp. lie accepted stupidly the clerk's congratulations on his success, left the name of the little hotel off Fort Street as the address to which to send the deeds, and dragged himself off with in- finite fatigue to his bed-room. There he fell at once into profound unconsciousness. He was awakened late in the afternoon by the sen- sation of a strong pair of young arms around his shoulders, and the sound of Wallace Carpenter's fresh voice crying in his ears: "Wake up, wake up! you Indian! You've been asleep all day, and I've been waiting here all that time. I want to hear about it. Wake up, I say! " Thorpe rolled to a sitting posture on the edge of the bed, and smiled uncertainly. Then as the sleep drained from his brain, he reached out his hand. " You bet we did 'em, Wallace," said he, " but it looked like a hard proposition for a while." " How was it? Tell me about it! " insisted the boy eagerly. " You don't know how impatient I've been. The clerk at the Land Office merely told me it was all right. How did you fix it?" WTiile Thorpe washed and shaved and leisurely freshened himself, he detailed his experiences of the last week. "And," he concluded gravely, "there's only one i68 Ill THE BLAZKD TRAIL i6g "1 ..e! Ifs tl« son of >hinK S tor If -l™",' wa,.cd ano,hcr .uo weeks &.f,.re ""o J",g i^n^"."'^ Jidn^T? •• '°- *""^« •'"S'"«^"ed. ■• I did count, ThoJpe^^ed '° "'°'" "" °'''°='< "-is morning," po^'l^^^^YHTri^rS'id^'ri'e'el rne'^to-Z' -''- that's the im^rian^A'ng"- ^^ ™' 8°' ""«• "« -g^S;':r-^rS^-,S-i^'^ vo,ati,e e„.„„si. ■Uon t refuse!" he bco-p-pd " J\,^ . .. on giving my senior partnfr a dinner \TZ ^''''' won't refuse to be my £uest here .= f' ^'^ >'°" the woods!" ^ ^ ^' ^^ ^ ^^"^s yo"i"s in " Wallace," said Thorpe, " I'll eo vn.i tm ii . i£:a;^Sd-^:r:^^'i£3.S Since I ve seen a salad, oi heard of after-dinner coVee/' I ' If J; 1 i !■ i; !i. l-JO THE BLAZED TRAIL " Come on then," cried Wallace. Toj^ctlier they saunicred throu!:jh the Icncfthening shadows to a certain small restaurant near Wooilward Avenue, then much in vot^ue amuntj [Detroit's ej)'- cures. It contained only a half dozen taMes. hut was spotlessly clean, and its cuisine was unrivalled. A lart^e fireplace near the center of the room rohhed it of half its restaurant air; and a thick carpet on the floor took the rest. The walls were decorated in dark colors after the German style. Several easy chairs f^rouped hefore the fireplace, and a light wicker table heaped with magazines and papers invited the guests to lounge while their or('' rs were being prepared. Thorpe was not in the least Sy!)aritic in his tastes, but he could not stille a sigh of satisfaction at sinking so naturally into the unobtrusive little comforts which the ornamental life offers to its votaries. They rose up around him and pillowed him. and were grateful to the tired fibers of his being. His remoter past had enjoyed these things as a matter of course. They had framed the background to his daily habit. Now that the background had again slid into place on noiseless grooves, Thorpe for the first time became conscious that his strenuous life had indeed been in the op.a air, and that the winds of earnest endeavor, while bracing, had chilled. Wallace Carpenter, with the poet's insight and sympathy, saw and understood this feeling. " I want you to order this p brown. You can hriii-,' .^mie celery, too, if von have it fresh ami good. And for rntirc tell your ctH)k to make some macaroni an ^i^yatiii, hut the inside must he soft and very creamy, and the outsi.je very crisp. 1 know it's a f]mer dish iv.v a lonnal dinner like ouis," he addressed V\allace with a liule lauf,di, " 1 ut it's very, vciy pood. We'll have roasl beef, rare and juicv , — if }ou hrinp it any way hut a cooked red, I'll send 'it hack ; — and potatoes roasted with the meat, and brown pravy. Then the hrea>t of chicken with the salad, in the I'rench fashion. And I'll make the dressintj. We'll have an ice and aome fruit for dessert. Black coffee." " ^ es. sir," replied the waiter, his pencil poised. "And the wines?" Thorpe ruminated sleepily. " A rich red lhir.t;undy,"' he decided, " for all the (linner. If your cellar contains a very good smooth Beaune, we'll have that. " " Yes, sir," answered the waiter, and departed. Thorpe sat and f,'azed moodily into the wood fire. Wallace respected his silence. It wjs yet too earlv for the fasliionablc world, so the tw(j friends had the place to themselves, (iradually the twiliq;ht fell; stranfro shadows leaped and died en the wall. A boy dressed all in uhite turned on the li.nhts. r>y and by the waiter announced that their repast awaited tliem". Thorpe ate. his eyes half closed, in ■^cmnolent satis- faction. (\-casinnaily he smile I contentedly across at Wallace, who smiled in rcsponsv.'. After the cofifee he had ti^e waiter brinpf cicf.T-^. '1 hc\- x.'^nl back between the tables to a little uphoLurcd smoking room, where \^' S . 81 172 THE BLAZED TRAIL they sank into the depths .A leather chairs, and blew nine o clo. k 7 horpe spo'. e the first word. . 1 m stupid this evening. I'm afraid said he shak- .npr himself. 'Don't think on that accoum I am no enjo>.ng your dinner. I believe " he asserted ea^nestl^ tiiat 1 i: ycr had such an altogether comfortahI«^ happy evening before in my life." comiortable, ;; 1 know." replied Wallace ^sympathetically. It seems just now," went on Thorpe, sinking more uxunously mto his armchair. " that \his alone^iriiv! ouJ ct illJl^l^o.^^ ^" ''''-' -"'^- '^ '^ the lowerof Wallace rtmemhered the turm. il of the wilderness rSw ihe m if '"•'' '."°J^' '''' '^ '■" th: eve'nTng glow, the mellow voice of the summer night croonine ioSg. '''' P'""- ^"^ ^' '''^ the rareSact to sa? " Did It ever occur to you that what you needed rmn"nfr '''''^ ""' ^his way," he said abruptly after W^^n v'v t ^ '^°'"^'? t° understand and syn^paUnze' Wouldnt It have made this evening perfect to have seen opposite you a being whom you loved, who under stood you:- moments of weariness, as well as vour moments of strength ? " ' " strllightTur^ '"°^ ^^- ^° ^--P ^"-^ortr"e^ ^J^he waiter brought the bill on a tray, and Carpenter t, '' Y^."""l-;' ^^'^ Thorpe suddenly after a long in- terval, we 11 borrow enough by mortgat-mg our land willZ^ '^. '^' ''°- '^■'■"^ ^^P^"^^^- I suppose cUl^T will have to investigate, and that'll take time; but I cfn THE BLAZED TRAIL ,73 begin to pick up a crew and make arran-emcnf- for transportation and sunnlies Yn., Vn!. t-^ ^ i if ' f'l i! it * 4 f MICROCOPY RESOIUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 I.I |50 ""1= l!Z5 2.2 2.0 i.8 ^ >1PPLIED IIVMGE Inc ^^ 1653 East Main Street 5^S Rochester, New ~i ork TV609 USA '-SS (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone ^=: (716) 288 - 5989 - Fax Chapter XXV Li ' \ Ik "TEXT day the articles of partnership were /\/ drawn; and Carpenter gave his note for the / V necessary expenses. Then in at' wer to a pen- cilled card which Mr. Morrison had evidently left at Thorpe's hotel in person, both young men called at the lumberman's place of business. They were ushered immediately into the private office. Mr. Morrison was a smart little man with an ingra- tiating manner and a fishy eye. He greeted Thorpe with marked geniality. "My opponent of yesterday!" hi cried jocularly. " Sit down, Mr. '1 liorpe ! Although you did me out of some land I had made every preparation to purchase, I can't but admire your grit and resourcefulness. How did you get here ahead of us? " " I walked across the upper peninsula, and caught a boat," replied Thorpe briefly. " Indeed, indeed! " replied Mr. Morrison, placing the tips of his fingers together. " Extraordinary! Well, Mr. Thorpe, you overreached us nicely; and I suppose we must pay for our carelessness. We must have that pine, even though we pay stumpage on it. Now what would you consider a fair price for it?" " It is not for sale," answered Thorpe. " We'll waive all that. Of course it is to your in- terest to make difficulties and run the price up as hi^li as you can. But my time is somewhat occupied just at present, so I would be very glad to hear your top price — we will come to an agreement afterwards." " You do not understand me, Mr. Morrison. I told you the pine is not for sale, and I mean it." 174 , iS THE BLAZED TRAIL »75 "Rut surely— What did vou buy it for, then'" cried Mr. Morrison, with evidences of a growing ex- citement. " We intend to manufacture it." Mr. Morrison's fishy eyes nearly popped out of his head. Jrlo controlled himself with an effort. " Mr. Thorpe," said he, " let us trv to be reasonable. I'm case stands this way. We have gone to a great deal of expense on the Ossawinamakee in expectation of undertaking very extensive operations there. To that end we have cleared the stream, built three dams, and have laid the foundations of a harbor and boom 1 his has been very expensive. Now your purchase in- cludes most of what we had meant to log. You have roughly speaking, about three hundred millions in your holding, in addition to which there are several millions scattering near it, which would pay nobody but yourself to got in. Our holdings are further up strearn, and comprise only about the equal of yours " Three hundred millions are not to be sneezed at " replied Thorpe. ' "Certainly not," agreed Morrison, suavely, gaining confidence from the sound of his own voice. " Not in this country. But you must remember that a man goes into the northern peninsula only because he can get something better there than here. When the firm of Morrison & Daly establishes itself now, it must be for the last time. We want enough timber- to do us for the rest of the time we are in business." "In that case, you will have to hunt up another locality, replied Thorpe calmly. Morrison's eyes flashed. But he retained his appear- ance of geniality, and appealed to Wallace Carpenter Then you will retain the advrntage of our dams and improvements," said he. " Is that fair? " " No, not on the face of it," admitted Thorpe " But you did your work in a navigable stream for private i I' Ml %4 i: 176 THE BLAZED TRAIL |i i n purposes, without the consent of the Board of Control. Your presence on the river is illegal. You should have taken out a charter as an Improvement Company. Then, as long as you 'tended to business and kept the concern in repair, we'd have paid you a toll per thou- sand feet. As soon as you let it slide, however, the works would revert to the State. I won't hinder your doing that yet; although I might. Take out you^ char- ter and fix your rate of toll." " In other words, you force us to stay there and nm a little two-by-four Improvement Company for your benefit, or else lose the value of our improvements? " " Suit yourself," answered Thorpe carelessly. " You can always log your present holdings." " Very well," cried Morrison, so suddenly in a pas- sion that Wallace started back. " It's war! And let me tell you this, young man; you're a new concern and we're an old one. We'll crush you like that!" He crisped an envelope vindictively, and threw it in the waste-basket. " Crush ahead," replied Thorpe with great good humor. " Good-day, Mr. Morrison," and the two went out. Wallace was sputtering and trembling with nervous excitement. His was one of those temperaments which require action to relieve the stress of a stormy inter- view. He was brave enough, but he would always tremble in the presence of danger until the moment for striking arrived. He wanted to do something at once. " Hadn't we better see a lawyer? " he asked. " Oughtn't we to look out that they don't take some of our pine? Oughtn't we " " You just leave all that to me," replied Thorpe. "The first thing we want to do is to rustle some money." " And you can leave that to mc," echoed Wallace. " I know a little of such things, and I have business THE BLAZED TRAIL "77 connections who kno nore. You just get the camp running." " I'll start for Bay C y to-night," submitted Thorpe. " There ought to be a 'O.id lot of lumber-jacks lying around idle at this time o' year; and it's a good place to outfit from because we can probably get freight rates direct by boat. We'll be a little late in starting, but we'll get in some logs this winter, anyway." H I % ^i I< THE BLAZED TRAIL r Part III The Blazing of the Trail I '!• .: n ■ :! ;i 41 -'J< ill n- li i- ■J -"". ■• -ctrV-V^ Chapter XXVI A LUMBERING town after the drive is a fear- Am ful thing. Men just oflF the river draw a deep JL JL breath, and plunge into the wildest reactionary dissipation. In droves they invade the cities, — wila, picturesque, lawless. As long as the money lasts, they blow it in. " Hot money! " is the cry. " She's burnt holes in all my pockets already! " The saloons are full, the gambling houses overflow, all the places of amusement or crime run full blast. A chip rests lightly on everyone's shoulder. Fights are as common as raspberries in August. Often one of these formidable men, his muscles toughened and quickened by the active, strenuous river work, will set out to " take the town apart." For a time he leaves rack and ruin, black eyes and broken teeth behind him, UP**' b2 meets a more redoubtable " knocker " and is . id kicked into unconsciousness. Organized ircm house to house forcing the peaceful in- rink from their bottles. Others take posses- certain sections of the street cmd resist d Y(m- trance the attemots of others to pass. Inoflfensive citizens are stood on their heads, or shaken upside down until the contents of their pockets rattle on the street. Parenthetically, these contents are invariably returned to their owners. The riverman's object is fun, not robbery. And if rip-roaring, swashbuckling, drunken glory is what he is after, he gets it. The only trouble is, that a whole winter's hard work goes in two or three weeks. x8r p. n lit. l82 THE BLAZED TRAIL The only rcdoeminc^ feature is. that he is never, in or out of his cups, afraid of anything tliat walks the earth. A man comes out of th-! woods or off tlu- drive with two or three hundred dollars, which he is only too anxious to throw away by the douhle handful'. It follows naturally that a crew of sharpers are on hand to find out who gets it. Tluy arc a hard lot. P.old, unprincipled men, they too are afraid of iKJtiiing; not even a drunk -n lumber-jack, which is one of the dan- gerous wild animals of the American fauna. Their business is to relieve the man of his money as soun as possible. They are experts at their business. The towns of I'.ay City and Saginaw alone in 1S78 supported over fourteen hundred tough characters. Block after biock was devoted entirely to saloons. In a rac.ius of three Inindred feet from the famous old Catacombs could be iiumberul forty saloons, where drinks were sold by from three to ten " [ retty w alter girls." When the boys struck town, the proprietors and waitresses stood in their doorways to welcome them. " Why, Jack! " one would cry, " wluii did you drift in? Tickled to death to see you! Come in an have a drink. That your chum? Come in, old man, and have a drink. Nevi r mind the pay; that's all right." And after the first drink, Jack, of course, had to treat, and then the chum. Or if Jack resisted temptation and walked resolutely on, one of the girls would remark audibly to another. " He ain't no lumber-jack! You can see that easv 'nufT! He's jest off th' hay-trail! " Ten to one that brought hiin, for the woodsman is above all things proud and jealous 1 f his craft. In the center of this whirlpool of iniquity stood the Catacombs as the hub from which lesser spokes in the wheel radiated. Any old logger of the Saginaw Vallev can tell you of the Catacombs, just as any old logger THE BLAZED TRAIL »83 of any other valley will tell you of the " Pen." the V\ hite Row. the ; Water Streets " of Alpena, i-'urt Huron, Ludingtcn, Muskegon, and a dozen other lum- ber towns. The Catacombs was a tlirce-storv buildinL^ In the basement were vile, ilI-^md!ulK^ iU-li-hte-l dens, small, isoalec , (ian-erous. The shanty buy with a small stake, Jar KOI le m drunkenness, there tasted the last dn,p of wickedness, and thence was tlunj; unconscious and penniless on the streets. A trap-duor directly into the nver accommodated those who were inconsiderate enough to succumb uii'.ler rough treatment. I he sccoml stury was given over to drinking. Polly Uickson there reigned supreme, an anomaly. She was as pretty and fresh and pure-looking as a child; rnd at tlie sanu' tunc w.:. one of the mo.t ruthless and un- scrupulous of the gang. She could at will e.xercise a fascmatiun the m,.,e terrible in tiiat il appealed at once o her victim s i>u!>ler instincts of reverence, his capacity for what might be called aesthetic fascination, as well as his passions. When she fmallv held him, she crushed him as calmly as she would'a lly. ^^ Four bars supplied the diinkables. "Dozens of pretty waiter g,rls " served the customers. A force ot prolessional lighters was maintained by the estab- lishment to preserve that degree of jjcace vhich sliould look to the preservation of mirrors and "lass- ware. " The third story .ained a dance hall and a theater Ihe character of both would better be iclt to the i:r' agmation. Night after night during the season this den ran at top-steam. By midnight, when the orgy was at its height, the windows brilliantly luminated, the various bursls of music, laughing, cursing, singing, shouting, fi^jhtine breaking in turn or all togc; ler from its open wiSdows' :*i ji iS^ THE BLAZED TRAIL it was, as Jackson Hines once expressed it to mc, lik* hell let out for noon. The respectable elements of the *owns were power- less. They could not control the elections. Their police would only have risked total annihilation by attempting a raid. At the first sign of trouble they walked straij^ditly in the paths of their own iffairs, awaiting the time soon to come when, his stake " blown-in." the last bitter dregs of his pleasure gulped down, the shanty boy would again start for the woods. Chapter XXVII ly TOW in August, however, tlie first turmoil had /I/ djfd. 'Ihe "jam" h. . build iiiiu town, ^ T " taken it apart," and left the inhabitants to piece It together again as they cuuld ; the " rear " had not yet arrived. As ? consequence, Thorpe found the city comparatively q . :. Here and there swaggered a strapping riverman, his prnall felt hat cocked aggressively over one eye, its brim curled up behind; a cigar stump protruding at an angle from beneath his sweeping moMstache; his hands thrust into the pockets ot his trousers, " stagged " off at the knee; the spikes of his river boots cutting little triangular pieces from the wooden sidewalk. Hi*^ eye was aggressively humorous, and the smile of his face was a challenge. For in the last month he had faced almost c 'ain death a dozen times a day. He had ridden logs vn the rapids where a loss of balance meant in one ir .nt a ducking and in the next a blow on the back from some following battering-ram; he had tugged and strained and jerked with his peavey under a ^hcer wall of tangled timber twenty feet high, — behind which pressed the full power of the freshet, — onlv to jump with the agihty of a cat from one bit of unstable footing to another when the first sharp crack warned him that he had done his work, and that the whole mass was about to break down on him like a wave on the shore; he had worked fourteen hours a day in ice-water, and had slept damp; he had pried at the key log in the rollways on the bank until I8S n :^. "*k?'' „ i86 THE BLAZED TRAIL the whole pile had begun to rattle down into the river like a cascade, and had jumped, or ridden, or even dived out of danger at the last second. In a hundred passes he had juggled with death as a child plays with a rubber balloon. No wonder that he has brought to the town and his vices a little of the lofty bearing of an heroic age. No wonder that he fears no man, since nature's most terrible forces of the flood have hurled a thousand weapons at him in vain. His muscles have been hardened, his eye is quiet and sure, his courage is undaunted, and his movements are as quick and accurate as a panther's. Probably nowhere in the 'vorld is a more dangerous man of his hands than the riverman. He would rather fight than eat. especially when he is drunk, as, like the cow-boy, he usually is when he gets into town. A history could be written of the feuds, the wars, the raids instituted by one camp or one town against another. _ The men would go in force sometimes to another city with the avowed purpose of cleaning it out. One battle I know of lasted nearly all night. Deadly weapons were alfnost never resorted to, unless indeed a hundred and eighty pounds of muscle behind a fist hard as iron might be considered a deadly weapon. A man hard pressed by numbers often resorted to a billiard cue, or an ax, or anything else that happened to be handy, but that was an expedient called out by necessity. Knives or six-shooters implied a certain premeditation which was discountenanced. On the other hand, the code of fair fighting obtained hardly at all. The long spikes of river-boots made an admirable weapon in the straight kick. I have seen men whose faces were punctured as thickly as though by small-pox, where the steel points had penetrated. In a free-for-all knock-down-and-drag-out, kicking, gouging, and biting are all legitimate. Anything to injure the other man, provided always you do'not laiiie THE BLAZED TRAU, 187 him. And when you take a half dozen of these endur- ing,'-, active, muscular, and fiery men, not one entert ain- ... , — -_ _, ^.., ..^1. vjiiv v-lil>.l lUiW in- in Ins innermost heart the faintest hesitation or fear and set them at each other with the licrhtnin-^- tirelos- ncss of so main Wild-cats, you '^vL as hard a fiolu as you could desire. .\nd they seem to like it. One old fellow, a good deal of a character in his way, used to be on the " drive " for a firm lumbering near Si.x Lakes. He was intenselv loval to his " Old Fellows," and every time he got a little " budge " in him, he instituted a raid on the town ..wned by a rival firm. So frequent and so severe did these battles be- conie that finally the men were informed that another such expedition would mean instant discharge. The rule had its eflfect. The raids ceased. i5ut one day old Dan visited the saloon once too often. He became very warlike. The other men merely laughed, for they were strong enough them- selves to recognize firmness in others, and it never occurred to them that they could disobev so absolute a command. So finally Dan stjirted out quite alone. He invaded the enemy's camp, attempted to clean out the saloon with a billiard cue single handed, was knocked down, and would have been ':icked to death as he lay on the floor if he had not succeeded in rolling under the billiard table where the men's boots could not reach him. As it was, his clothes were litcrallv torn to ribbons, one eye was blacked, his nose broken one ear hune to its place by a mere shred of skin, and his face and Icsh were ripped and torn everywhere by the '' corks on the boots. Anv but a riverman would have qualified for the hospital. Dan rolled to the other side of the table, made a sudden break, and escaped. But his fighting blood war not all spilled. He raided the butcher-shop, seized the big carving knife, and re- turned to the battle field. The enemy decamped — rapidly — some of them If I; (fl ( -If Ifi A i88 THE BLAZED TRAIL t through the window. Dan managed to get in but one blow. He ripped the coat down the man's back as neatly as though it had been done with shears, one clean straight cut from collar to bottom seam. A quar- ter of an inch nearer would have split the fellow's back- bone. As it was, he escaped without even a scratch. Dan commandeered two bottles of whisky, and, gory and wounded as he was, took up the six-mile tramp home, bearing the knife over his shoulder as a banner of triumph. Next morning, weak from the combined effects of war and whisky, he reported to headquarters. " What is it, Dan?" asked the Old Fellow without turning. "I come to get my time," replied the riverman humbly. "What for?" inquired the lumberman. " I have been over to Howard City," confessed Dan. The owner turned and looked him over. " They sort of got ahead of me a little," explained Dan sheepishly. The lumberman took stock of the old man's cuts and bruises, and turned awav to hide a smile. " I guess I'll let you ofif this trip," said he. " Go to work — when you can. I don't believe you'll go back there again." "No, sir," replied Dan humbly. And so the life of alternate work and pleasure, both full of personal danger, develops in time a class of men whose like is to be found only among the cowboys, scouts, trappers, and Indian fighters of our other frontiers. The moralists will always hold up the hands of horror at such types; the philosopher will admire them as the last incarnation of the heroic age, when the man is bigger than his work. Soon the factories, the machines, the mechanical structures and construc- tions, the various branches of co-operation will produci.- 1 THE BLAZED TRAIL 189 JiriharZ'!"""^ institutions evidently more impor- ThI than the genius or force of any one human bein^ latecf In?h /^'"^.'"^ ^J" ^^^^ ^^^°"^^ "^^^ly ehmf: whos; nl °''' ^"^ °" t^^ ^'■°"t'^^ s^i" are many whose powers are greater than their works- wliose furvSr'^^'" ' K^" 'Y' ^^^^^- They arrmen,' power- t e strl^th'nl ^'"^'^ "' 'T'' ^"^ "^^gnificent with An J?^^^ °^ courage and resource. our L ^'hlll^^ '''"^ ^ digression from the thread of our tale, but as a matter of fact it is necessary that you understand the conditions of the time and n ace Tuc^ess "'"^ ^'°'P' '^^ ''' ^'^''^^ the duty 0I He had seen too much of incompetent labor to be satisfied with anything but the best. Although his Ideas were not as yet formulated, he hoped to bVable to pick up a crew of first-class men from those who had come down with the advance, or " jam "of the spring's drive. They should have finished'Sir org e! lVZnt'!tuT/ ""'r'^'"' ^^°"^^ be found ha^ng- ing about the boarding-houses and the quieter saloons «e would not need more than twenty at first for during the approaching winter he purposed to log on t^uld^omf^r '"'^^'- ^^'^ ^^"^'^- -P--" ahi'J!;!!^.' °.^^''''* ^" ^'"r ^"^ ^^t °"t ^'^^ his hotel about half-past seven on the day of his arrival, to cruise auout in the lumber-jack district already described a num?ef o th' '^' ?''''^?^'' ^^^^" himl. nYme'sli a number of the quieter saloons, where the boys " hung these ThZl? ''"'''1 °i P'-^^P^'-ity. In the first of nn.lr/- P^ ""'l' ''^'P^'^ materially in his vague and Fro^'"t,?""-/^ encountering an old acquaintance l^rom the sidewalk he heard the vigorous sounds o a one-sided altercation punctuated by f^requent bursts of quickly silenced laughter. Evidently some one was ! i\ I " -• _ i I A igo THE BLAZED TRAIL very an^y, and the rest amused. After a moment Ihorpe imagined he recognized the excited voice. So he pushed open the swinging screen door and entered The place was typical. Across one side ran the hard-wood bar with foot-rest and little towels hung in metal clasps under its edge. Behind it was a long mirror, a symmetrical pile of glasses, a number of plain or ornamental bottles, and a miniature keg or so of porcelain containing the f^ner whiskys and brandies. The bar-keeper drew beer from two pumps mimediately in front of him, and rinsed glasses in some sort of a sink under the edge of the bai. The center of the room was occupied by a tremendous stove capable of burning whole logs of cordwood. A stovepipe led frorii the stove here and there in wire suspension to a final exit near the other corner. On the wall were two sporting chromos, and a good varietv of lithographed calendars and illuminated tin signs advertising beers ana .spirits. The floor was liberallv sprinkled with damp sawdust, and was occupied, besides the stove, by a number of wooden chairs and a single round table. The latter, a clumsy heavy afifair beyond the strength of an ordinary man, was being deftly interposed be- tween himself and the attacks of the possessor of the angry voice by a gigantic young riverman in the conventional stagged (i.e., chopped off) trousers, cork shoes, and broad belt typical of his craft In the aggressor Thorpe recognized old Jackson Hines. "Damn you!" cried the old man, qualifying the oath, "let me get at you, you great big sock-stealer, 1 11 make you hop high! I'll snatch vou bald-headed 30^ quick that you'll think you never had any hair! " " I'll settle with you in the morning. Jackson," laughed the riverman. " You want to eat a good breakfast, then, because you won't have no appetite for dinner." 'Ei'-i'-'': mm^M THE BLAZED TRAIL t ): The men roared, with encouraein- callc Th. • man „u. on a ludicrous appearfn^? ToS^mT^^ crl^d'^ldyal^k^S^t.lSrcSn^ r^™^". "■;" •' " sheer weariness " vZT,?; "^"^"^'"ff •"* a«acks from tied .0 a briekliall beWnS'lhrt S?-^^ "'= ^^ ' ^°- e.di'emen'.'""" ""^'^'^ '" ''™ »'« »' 'he blur of hi. "Th.°^ T" ''"°."' "«'" '"quired Thorpe knittin' needle » ^°"* ^' ^^^ ^^ ^ stall-fed exZi^ed'Thorpe" 95 Thorpe could hardly believe his pood-fortune in havuig gained so important a recruit. With a praciicai man as foreman, his mind would be relieved of a j-rcat deal of worry over unfamiliar detail. 1 k- saw at once that he woul.l himself be able to perform all the duties ol sraler, keep in touch witli the needs of the camn and supervise the campai-n. Nevertheless he an- snered the older man's glance with one as keen, and "Look here Shearer, if you take this job, we may as well understand each other at the start. ^ This is going o be my camp, and I'm going to be boss. I don't know much about logging, and I shall want you to ake charge of a 1 that, but I shall wan. to know just ^\hy you do each thing, and if my judgment advises otherwise, my judgment goes. If 1 want to discharge tw"T f ]f^'' '^'^^'T ^"y question. I know about J^ha. I shall expect of each man; and I intend to get «t out of him. And m questions of policy mine is the one of the best there is, -and 1 presume I shall find ?o 'slVr*; 57'"'/^ ^'''' ^''' ^ ^^"'^ ^^-^"^ ^"y '"i-^takes o start witn. If you want to be my foreman on those tej-ms, just say so, and I'll be tickled to death to have For the l^rst time the lumberman's face lost, durin- a^ single instant, its mask of immobility. His steef- bme eyes flashed his mouth twitched with some strong emotion. For the f^rst time, too, he spoke withou? his^ contemplative pause of preparation. \\ ell I should rise to remark! You're the boss; and 1 always said it. I'll get you a gang of bully boys that will roll logs till there's skating in helH " ^ ^ Ihorpe left, alter making an appointment at his own I- '^'^;^^"^1^' i"to his with a sudden savage concentration. Then their owner obediently arose Ihorpe now saw that the bodv before him was'of a. cripple, short-legged, hunch-backed, lon^-rrmed pigeon-breasted. The large head sat tran^ely Top- heavy between even the broad shoulders. It cl^nfirmed whit^r^n'''!' ^"' '""'" ^^^P^''- t'^^t brooded onThe wnite countenance. At the hotel Thorpe, examining the cut. found it more serious in appearance than In reality w"th a .1 f t-; 198 THE BLAZED TRAIL ; I f i Then he attempted to interrogate his find " What is your name? " he asked. " Phil." "Phil what?" Silence. "How (lid you get hurt?" No reply. " Were you playing your fiddle in one of those houses? The cripple noddcl slowlv. "Arc you hungry.?" asked Thorpe, with a sudden IhouKlitfulncss. " Yes." replied the cripi)le, with a lightninK Klcani in his wolf eyes. Thorpe rang the bell. To the boy who answered it he said: " Bring me half a dozen beef sandwiches and a glass of milk, and be quick about it." "Do you play the fiddle much?" contiraed Thorpe The cripple nodded again. " Let's hear what you can do." "They cut my strings! " cried Phil with a passionate wail. The cry came from the heart, and Thorpe was touched by it. The price of strings was evidcntlv a big sum. ' ** ...',' r^'l,^^* -^°^* ^^^^ '" ^^^ morning," said he. Would you like to leave Rav Ciiv?" " Yes! " cried the boy with passion. " You would have to' work. You would have to b*' chore-boy in a lumber camp, and play fiddle for the men when they wanted you to." " I'll do it,"'said the cripnle. "Are you sure you could? You will have to split all the wood for the men. the cook, and the office- you will have to draw the water, and fill the lamps] t; if THE BLAZED 1 KAIL »99 and keep the camps clean. You will be paid for it vvdl.^ If >ou ,lu\ not do ,t well. I would 'Mschargo marl ," n/'?,,''' ' ''^'''^''' "^'' "'I^f''^' ^^'''' a shade "All riKht tlun !•" take you." replied Thorpe nis face ...,t tile ^ri,.an, of the wolf faded to give place to the snu. afTect.unate kI-w seen in the eyes tf a set'er ' ^^'^ '^reverent porter, huemn^ tightly his unstrung violin to his bosom. ^^^ 1 Horpe lay awake for some time after rctirintr Phil cla.med a share of his thoughts ^' ' ihorpe's wmter in the woods had imr .^ssed unon h'm that a good cook and a fiddler will do^.ore to K nien contented than high wag.s and easv work I? "ter^'^rhrs' •'" '"''^'^ ''-'' "'^^ -"tifely chtinter itif'w.-tl h h '"^"^^'"f °" P^'-'si-^t^-'l in occupying itselt u:th the boy. What terrible life of want ind V.C.OUS associates had he led in this ter ib e town ' tiZf 1 f ^'"1 ^' inhabited that he was so eager o get away ? In an hour or so he dozed. He dreanwl that the cnpple had grown to enormous proportSns KO THE BLAZED TRAIL and was overshadowing his life. A slight noise outside his bed-room door brought him to his feet. He opened the door and found that in the stillness of the night the poor deformed creature had taken the blankets from his bed and had spread them across the door-sill of the man who had befriended him. il-''=" i I] Chapter XXIX rHREE weeks later the steam barge Pole Star sailed down the reach of Saginaw Bay o^ • • .^."°''P<^ had received letters from Carpenter advismg h,m of a credit to him at a Marquette bank and mclosmg a draft sufficient for current expenses T.m Shearer had helped make out the list of nece': 'f ?■ u , i'^^ everything was loaded, the gang- plank hauled m, and the httle band of A^gonaufs "ft their faces toward the point where the Big Dipper swings. ^ A-'ippcr The weather was beautiful. Each morning the sun rose out of the frosty blue lake water, and set in a sea of deep purple The moon, once again at the full drew broad paths across the pathless waste. From he southeast blew daily the lake trades, to die at sunset and then to return in the soft still nights from the wes' notTL'a^ned." ''^"""^ '°^ '^' ^^^^"^"^ -"^d" nl^V^"" ^""'I'f '" ^^^ ^"'^ munched their hay and ZL. Pf^'i^^bly as though at home in their^own 1 e stnVk-^nf r" "V"'' ^"^ ^^^1^^^ ''^''' them from , • ?!.^'"\' changing localitv or going out of hu iness His judgment in such mat'ters vvas i'nfal Ible but he had resolutely refused to take the position o'' ^''<''"xt°,f ''"^"^'^ Thorpe ofifered him. ^ .nwi?' 1^'^ h^' r she's too far north. I'm gettin' old .tSr'stohday.'^^ ^'"^ '' ' ^°^^^^ ^'-" ^^^ - ^ So Shearer had picked out a barn-boss of his own. 301 U '^.i:riil i^<« 202 THE BLAZED TRAIL This man was i.nportant, for the horses are the main- stay of lo!^ging operations. He had selected also, a blacksmith, a cook, four teamsters, half a dozen cant- hook men, and as many handy with ax or saw. " The blacksmith is also a good wood-butcher (car- penter)," explained Shearer. " Four teams is all \\c ought to keep going at a clip. If we need a few a\- men, we can pick 'em up at Marquette. I think this gang'll stick. I picked 'em." There was not a young man in the lot. They were most of them in the prime of middle life, between thirty and forty, rugged in appearance. '• cocky " in manner, with the swagger and the oath of so many buccaneers, hard as nails. Altogc* aer Thorpe thought them about r=; rough a set of customers as he had ever seen. Throughout the day they played cards on deck, and spat tobacco juice abroad, and 'swore incessantly.' Toward himself and Shearer their manner was an i mixture of independent equality and a slight deference. It was as much as to say, " You're the boss, but I'm as good a man as you any day." They would be a rough, turbulent, unruly mob to handle, but under a strong man they might accomplish wonders. Constituting the elite of the profession, as it were. --whose swagger every lad new to the woods and river tried to emulate, to whom lesser lights looked up as heroes and models, and whose loftv, half-con- temptuous scorn of everything and everyb'odv outside their circle of " bully boys " was truly the aristocracy of class, — Thorpe might have wondered at their con- senting to work for an obscure little camp belonging to a greenhorn. Loyalty to and pride in the firm for which he works is a strong characteristic of the lumber- jack. He will fight at the drop of a hat on behalf of his " Old Fellows "; brag loud and long of the season's cut, the big loads, the smart methods of his camps; and even after he has been discharged for some :|- til THE BLAZED TRAIL 203 flagrant debauch, he cherishes no rancor, but speaks with soft reminiscence to the end of his days concern- ing " that winter in '81 when the Old Fellows put in sixty milhon on Flat River." For this reason he feels that he owes it to his repu- tation to ally himself only with firms of creditable size and efficiency. The small camps are for the young- sters. Occasionally you will see two or three of the veterans in such a camp, but it is generally a case cf lacking- something better. The truth is, Shearer had managed to inspire in the mmds of his cronies an idea that' tliev were about to participate in a fight. He rc-told "Thorpe's story artistically, shading the yeliov/s and the reds. Ik- detailed the situation as i't existed. The men agreed that the " young fellow had sand enough for a lake front." After that there needed but a little skillful maneuvering to inspire them with the idea that it would be a great thing to take a hand, to " make a camp " m spite of the big concern up-river. Shearer knew that this attitude was tentative. Every- thing depended on how well Thorpe lived up to his rciMiL -ion at the outset, — how good a first impression of for-.c and virility he would manage to convey, for tlie <]vA impression possessed the power of transmut- ing the present rather ill-defined enthusiasm into loyalty or dissatisfaction. But Tim hi:--'lf believed in Thorpe blindly. So he had no fears. A little incident at the beginning of the voyage did much to reassure him. It was on^he old question of whisky. Thorpe had given orders that no whiskv was to be brought aboard, as he intended to tolerate no high-sea orgies. Soon afcr leaving dock he saw one of the teamsters drinkir.g from a pint fiask. Without a word he stepped briskly forward, snatched the bottle from the man's lips, aad threw it overhx^ard. Then he turned i ■ .-Lii 'k 11 |- i : \ ■« i 304 THE BLAZED TRAIL sharp on his heel and walked away, without tronbhne himself as to how the fellow was going to take it The occurrence pleased the n^-n, for it showed them they had made no mistake. ut it meant little else. Ihe chief danger really was kst they become too 'set- tled in the protective attitude. As they took it, they were about, good-naturedly, to help along a worthy greenhorn. This they considered exceedingly gener- ous on their part, and in their own minds they were mchned to look on Thorpe much as a grown man would look on a child. There needed an occasion for mm to prove himself bigger than they. Fine weather followed them up the long blue reach of Lake Huron; into the noble breadth of the Detour Passage, past the opening through the Thousand Islands of the Georgian Bay; into the St. Mary's K' -^r Ihey were locked through after some delay on acount of the grain barges from Duluth, and at last tu.ned their prow westward in the Big Sea Water, beyond which lay Hiawatha's Po-ne-mah, the Land of the Hereafter. Thorpe v,ras .bout late that night, drinking in the mystic beauty of the scene. Northern lights, pale and dim, stretched their arc across beneath the Dipper Ihe air, soft as the dead leaves of spring, fanned his cheek. By and by the moon, like a red fire at sea. lifted Itself from the w^ves. Thorpe made his way to the stern, beyond the square deck house, where he intended to lean on the rail in silent contemplation of the moon-path. He found another before him. Phil, the little cripple, was peering into the wonderful east, its li^ht :n his eyes. He did not look at Thorpe when the latter approached, but seemed aware of his presence, for he moved swiftly to give room. "It is very beautiful; isn't it, Piail?" said Thoroc after a monent. ^ hi- THE BLAZED TRAIL 205 ' " ^^ "u^^ ^^^'^ ^°"^ °^ ^^^ Sea," replied the cripple w a hushed voice. *^*^ Thorpe looked down surprised, " Who told you tliat? " he asked. But the cripple, repeating the words of a chance preacher, could explain himself no farther. In a dim way the ready-made phrase had expressed the smoth- ered poetic craving of his heart, -the belief that the sea the sky, the woods, the men and women, you, I. beamUul °"'" ^"^'' ^^"^ ^°"^ ""^'"^ '^ """^^ : The Heart Song of the Sea," he repeated gropingly. I don t know . I play it," and he made th^e k^w •• " AnH?v'"^ ^ bmv across strings, " very still and TV, f his was all Thorpe's question could elicit. Thorpe fell silent in the spell of the night, and pon- Z""^ ''W^''^ ''^'"'^5 °f ^^^' ^^hich had ckst on^?he shores of the deep as driftwood the soul of a poet. T v.rl'i!'' ^°"^ i ^lo 210 THE BLAZED TRAIL H ^\'. muttered, an-l then went on: " Now. we've jjot to get utiloadcd and our goods ashore before those fellows icport to camp. Get rij^ht moving, and hustle! " If the men expected any cfjmmcnt, approval, or familiarity from their leader on account of their little fracas, they were disappointed. This was a good thiiv^. The lumber-jack demands in his boss a certain funda- mental unapproachability, whatever surface boiih mic h" may evince. So Dyer and his men picked themselves out of the trouble sullenly and departed. The e,\-scaler had nothing to say' as lot.g as he was within reach, but when h€ had gained the shore, he turned. " You won't think this is so funny when you get in the law^'ourts! " he shouted. Thorpe made no reply. *' I guess we'll keep even," he muttered. " By the jumping Moses," snarled Scotty Parsons turning in threat. "Scotty!" saitl Thorpe sharply. Scotty turned bsck to his task, which was to help the blacksmith put together the wagon, the component parts of which the others had trundled out. With thirty men at the job it does not take a great while to move a small cargo thirty or forty feet. By three o'clock the Pdc Star was ready to continue her journey. Thorpe climbed aboard, leaving Shearer in charge. " Keep the men at it, Tim," said he. " P;:t up the walls of the wareiiouse good and strong, and move the stuff in. If it rains, you can spread the tent over the roof, and camp in witli the provisions. If you get through before I return, you might take a scout up the river and fix on a camp site. I'll bring back the lumber for roofs, floors, and trimmings with me, and will try to pick up a few axmcn for swamping. Above all things, have a good man or so always in charge. I .» •♦ THE BLAZED TRAIL an I!;°f flwllf'r?""' ^''^^'' "^ ^'^>' '""'■^ ^^' the pre- en , I t „nk ; but .1 pays to be on deck. So loni: •' hi. time checks and or Icrs; b. ight hmibcrat the mill- talked contract with old Harvey, the niill-mn,e i,.! prospective buyer of the youn^^ man's cut ; an 1 cn-ne licr remforccnent of tar-pnpcr, ucro noi'od on n The warehouse was secured by padlocks the w-nmr, oa ed wuh the tent and the n'ef-essaHc.'of 11^?°" la HWni lol' ' ,' r'T"'"8^ ^''*' ''■"'^- procession - 'aiiffliin- jokni,£^, skylarkm^r ^ith the hi'di snirifs nf men ,n the woods - took its way up the riv^Jr aU Ute that evcnmg. tired, but still hKlncci to miscfef cvcni,'?' "° -■'" ^''^ ^^' '^'"^•'" ^^'-'J Thorpe that pllJ^.-. which, or h,m. was puttin- it suon-r A noon of the followinj,^ day the party .frVived at t le soc.-.d dam. Here Shearer had decide to buifd tie permanent camp. Injin Charlev was co struct",^ e^lldUdill: th^;:b;;:^S-::-^ — ^ ^ ^.;Tt^,f^^!!:-'-^-^--^JS.a'^^xii:r: tna^n'' V'Z^r' -l? ''l^ V^^'"^ °" ^^''^^ ^^-'^'^ his fore- man, It sccn;c: . ^^ere if .I 212 THE BLAZED TRAIL venison hnnjijing suspended from the pole; the endless broil and tumult of the clear north-country stream; the yellow },dow over the hill opposite. Yet he had gone a nearly penniless adventurer; he returned at the head of an enterprise. Injin Charley looked up and grunted as Thorpe ap- proached. "Flow are you, Charley?" greeted Thorpe reti- cently. " You gettum pine? Good! " replied Charley in the same tone. That was all; for strong men never talk freely of v.hat is in their hearts. There is no need; they under- stand. Chapter XXXI rVVO months passcrl away. Winter set in. The camp was built aivl inhabited. Routine had established itself, and all was Poinij well 1 he first move of the M. & D. Company had been one of concihanon. 1 horpe was approached by the \\alkuiR:-boss of the camps np-river. The man made no reference to or excuse for what had occurred, nor 'lid he pretend to any hypocritical frien.jship for the youn.n;cr firm. 1 lis proposition was entirely one of mutual advantajje. The Company I, d ^.one tb consid- erable expense m constructing the pier of stone cribs. 1 would be impossdjle for the steamer to land at any other pomt. i horpe had undisputed possession of the Shore, but the Company could as indisputably remove tluntn ^'' '! T^' f'''' '' '''''■ ^^^^'' companies could then use it for their mutual convenience. tni,? I . u-''^ ''^'■''^- ^^''^^''' ^''e walking-boss. KprriTsed.'" ^° ^'^" ' ^^"^^^^'^ ^" ^'^'^^ ^'ff-t; wnnh""''' '"m ''''''' t'.'!'*''"^ •' '^ a"^^ "«e it when you vvantto, said he " I'll agree not to interfere as long as you people behave yourselves." ^ 9J0 ^'^t"^' 'oggi".? was opening up well. Both Sdiearer and Thorpe agreed that it would not do to be 00 amb. lous the first year. Thev set about clearing dam n'n".'";^ ^'"""^^^ ^'^""^ ^ '^^•f'"^*'^ h^l°^v the first flam, and during the six weeks before snow-fall cut hree short roa.ls of half a mile each. Approx mately •XfT °?/'k' ''°''^'^ ^' P"^ '" f^°"^ these roTds- *vh,ch could be extended in years to come ~ while 213 'Ms,n 214 THE BLAZED TRAIL another million could be travoyed directly to the land- ing from its mimodiate vicinity. " \Vc won t sls-id them," said'Tim. " We'll haul from the stump to the bank. And we'll tackle onlv a snow- road proposition: — we ain't got time to monkey with buildin sprinklers and plows this ^ ear. Wo'll'make a httle stake ahead, and then next year we'll do it rJPht and get in twenty million. That railroad'll get alone a ways by then, and men'll be more plenty " Through the lengthening evenings they sat crouched on wooden boxes either side of the stove, convcrsintr rarely, gazing at one spot with a steady persistenc? which was only an outward indication of the persistency with which their minds held to the work in hand. Tim' the older at the business, showed this trait more strongly than Thorpe. The old man thought of noth- ing but logging. From the stump to the bank, fnn the bank to the camp, from the camp to ihe stunr> again, his restless intelligence travelled tirelessly pick- ing up, turning over, examining the littlest details with an ever-fresh curiosity and interest. Nothing was too small to escape this deliberate scrulinv. Nothine was in so perfect a state that it did not bear one more inspection. He played the logging as a chess plaver his game. One by one he adopted the various possi- bilities, remote and otherwise, as hypotheses and thought out to the uttermost copper ri^et what would be the best method of procedure in case that possibility should confront him. Occasionally Thorpe would introduce some other topic of conversation. The old man would listen to his remark with the attention of courtesy; would allow a decent "'^'••--'' -<■ "•'- • ■ ■ - pci silence to intervene; and then, revert- U on the ne vv, ing to the old subject without com.. ,.. ^„ ,,,^ ,,^,,- would emit one of his terse practical suggestions, result of a long spell of figuring. Tiiat is how success is made. THE BLAZED TRAIL 21^ had been oo bi- ■ "% ^"V''''"'"- Tliorpc, who ^a.np. the cv.npl, Vh ins ^'?;?'^^''' ^''^"'' ^^ ^I''^ i.H.ked through the uimou A ',"" ^'■°''"' °^'^'' ^nd The men were waltz'n.^ u l" " r ''''"7 '''^' '" progress, ^"""d, gripp n- frnl/' ''''?^ -Solemnly round and above 'tife Sv. A I' ;:?; ti,i; d"/ '°r? ^'^^-^ j-' stamped one foot ^ '' '^''P °^^'^^ ^^'^It^ they .h.Srfel™,/S^r,^.» -'^.P;.n^ "i head „.a, nicnt, an,!hise-,.srriare| ,Vh! \ • °''^'" '^'^ '"^^tru- oid woIf-Hke gleam" Ash. n ' ',"7"^ "^"^ ^^-'^'^ t'.e across wit)) a swht icr'- h '^ ••'1' ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^'^c bovv t'''-ew hi. sho d >rf fron 'nn'^ "•^''^" ^^''^'^ ^"°^her. abrupt time to (he nn " a' ^l' '" ^''^ ""'^'- >" "uconseiouslv shudderc • the^ .' the n.usic! Thorpe atrocious. I^vas C e ;n n / ^^'i'" P'^.^- ^^ ^vas of the notes were e" er s! -, n f ^"'^ °"^ ^^ ^'^^^e as to produce absoh ' ,.^1- ' ""' '° ^^agrantly set thi teeth on echle ( 7h^°"'^' -^"^ '^^'^ ^""ugh to '-S as that of a poor h;^,^';:^" "'""" "^^ '^ ^°^- witi': ^^^Th^r;;;' ;]i"^ -^ ^- ^-^"1 stuff '-^■^thetie pleasure otheati 'iT^''"^ ^'"'^ °^ ^^^^ to define it. ^'^''^- ^^'^"'Pe^ ^vas at a loss " Poor P'hil," he said to himself " R« i , "^ Xv °"5 T"" ^'- --^1 earfJ^ '" ^^" '^"^•- ad_dresse?on;o;*L'men"^ '"^ °' ^'^^ ^^^ --P he fiddllrf-' ^'"^''" ^'' '"^"''•^^' "how do you like your got^Lc'i^to S'^' ^^"^ ^^"^ ^-Phasis. "She's I:' i: ij ill '1 ^i 2l6 THE BLAZED TRAIL In the woods the work proceeded finely. From the travoy sledges and the short roads a constant stream of logs emptied itself on the bank. There long parallel skidvvays had been laid the whole width of the river valley. Each log as it came was dragged ac ross those monster andirons and rolled to the ba»^k of the river. The cant-hook men dug their impl i.cnts into the rough bark, leaned, lifted, or clung to the projecting stocks until slowly the log moved, rolling with gradu- ally increasing momentum. Then they attacked it with fury lest the momentum be lost. Whenever it began to deviate from the straight rolling necessary to keep it on the center of the skids, one of the workers ' -ust the shoe of his cant-hook under one end of the 1, g. That end promptly stopped; the other, still roll- ing, soon caught up; and the log moved on evenly, as was fitting. At the end of the rollway the log collided with other logs and stopped with the impact of one bowling ball against another. The men knew that being cau^lii between the two meant death or crippling for liii.' Nevertheless they escaped from the narrowing interval at the laii, A possible moment, for it is easier to keep a log rolling than to start it. Then other men piled them by means of long steel chains and horses, just as they would have skidded them in the woods. Only now the logs mounted rp and up until the skidways were thirty or forty feet high. Eventually the pile of logs would fill the banking ground utterly, burying the landing under a nearly continuous carpet of timber as thick as a two-story house is tall. The work is dangerous. A saw Kjg containing six hundred board feet weighs about one ton. This is the weight of an ordinary iron safe When one of them rolls or falls from even a moderate height, its force is irresistible. But when twenty or thirty cascade down the bold front of a skidway, carry- AZED TRAIL lA-...- xjLi\L,iLlJ IK Air 217 trophe'"^" °' ^° '^'^'' ^^'''"' *^^ ^^^'' ^^<^°mes a catas- Thorpe's men, however, w^re all old-timers and nothmgof the sort occurred. At first it made him catch after a little he perceived that seeming luck uas n reah y a coolness of judgment and a lo.g?cxpericni n tie i,ecuhar ways of that most erratic of inanimate cuss.dness-the pme log. The banks grew daily Everybody was safe and sound. ^' Ine young lumberman had sense e-iough to know that, whde a crew such as his is supremelv effeaive I wniinir ZT '''"'^'"S to keep it good-humored a'nd vvilhng. He knew every man by iiis first name, and each day made it a point to talk with him for a moment or u^;rl- Tl '^ ^"^'^ '"^' invariably some phase of the uork. 1 horpe never permitted himself the familiaritv of introducing any other topic. By this course h. p^e^ served the nice balance between too great reserve which chills the lumber-jack's rather independent en-' thusiasm. and the too great familiaritv, wh ch loses his 3 • ^.::rr T"^-' '"^^^'>- ^^ ^" objection or ai.ln ^ ^^'""'^ ^° '^ non-committally; and later, ment r, l" p"" %['^'^"''^^S- acted as his judg- ment ..ed. Even Shear- r, with whom he was in nios intimate contact, respected this trait in him Gradually he came to feel that he was making a way ^Mth his men. It was a status, not assured as yet nor even very firm, but a status for all that in to n!ir^ "^^^ T^ ""^-^^^ ^''^ "^^"' ^ teamster, came o ^£"^^;V°"^^ objection to the cooking. As a matter 5t tact, the cooking was perfectlv good. It ^enerallv ':'rZV'tr'''^''''f ^^"^P- b"t the lumber-lack? 'a great hand to g,owl, and he usually begins With his « AlKJh/-'^"^ ^" ^'' 7'f"" objections in silence. All rjglit, he remarked simply. •' 1 I ; r ' ■ L 218 THE BLAZED TRAIL Next day he touched the man on the shoulder just as^he was starting; to work. ;; Step into the office and get your time," said he. ^^ \. hal s the matter? asked the man. 1 dor. t need you anv lons^Tr " Ihe'n^n t ^ip^" ^"' ^^" '^°°'^' ^"'^ ^^^'^ '--^-' at u'un^S:!;;,^^^^ ^^^'^- " '''''' ^'- ^--^ter. looking " At the bank in Marquette," replied Thorpe with- out glancmg around. ' i.'S^^'^. \ ^?} ^° go '^vay up to Marquette?" ^ Ccrtamly," reph-ed Thorpe brolly. ^^ V\ ho s gomg to pay my fare south? " u ^,°" ^'■^'; '^'"" ^'''" y^^t work at Marquette." ^^ That am t a fair shake." cried the man excitedly. withVlec"i"n."' ^"°"'"^ '" ''''' ^^"^P'" -'^ Thorpe ]] % God! " cried the man, " vou damned " centrVi'Vl 1' °"?'' ''''''•'•" '"^'^' '^''^"^P^^ ^^"'^ ^ ^O"" low Sep badf ""^^e^t"^ P^^^io" t'^a^ made the fcl- , "/ ?.^",'^ g°''''' fo Sv)Si.Ts?ir'"„tt-ufr;r'' "^ ™", "■«"-" '^.^ »l.t..h,ea,te,,5tT"e,?rc^,^-;STha:e,;l;™ Ordinarilv " he "p" ,^1 i"''cruk T ""™="-- """«'■ of .he right son ro"k'n,g fo'a ,';fr7,;, ;•; --'l' men liad no such Jionc — t'^^?,J,l '^^'^°'^^- -^^"t these men '.vcre too hn tT "^ '''^^ '°" ^'"^'J- and they qnite conmVon o po^U„"'X' ''? "^^?^^^"^^"^' -- work in t!,e nK-'n' s shamv "^ '' '''''^'' °' '''^' ^^>"« sk'!5intri,^r:i^;;s^Vh;7^T'"- ^"^^ ^-° - along the road.^^Tho pe 2 h I r ''"^ S:round. or sections, which he Su H;'i^l ",\^^"^P '"^^/our teamsters Roiio-i,].- c,.o i • -^ ^"^ "^"^^^^ of the in. team'had^^ ,^;^'J;-:;" ^^ ^''^ ^J-^e haul- -Pplyitwuhlogsand';S^L:r;S^r^^t^^JJ i i if ^ : - '' - ^'M m 220 THE BLAZED TRAIL the skidding teams, one was split; — the horses were big enougli so that one of them to a fkidvvay sufficed. Thus three gangs of men were performing each dav practically the same work. Thorpe scaled the results, and placed them conspicuously fur comparison. Red Jacket, the teamster of the sorrels, one day was credited with ii.ooo feet; while Long Pine Jim and Rollway Charley had put in but 10,500 and 10,250 re- spectively. That evening all the sawyers, swampers, and skiddtrrs belonging to Red Jacket's outfit were cons: \'rah!y elated; while the others said little and prepared for business on the morrow. Once Long Pine Jim lurked at the bottom for three days. Thorpe happened by the skidway just as Long Pine arrived with a log. The young fellow glanced solicitously at the splendid buckskins, the best horses in camp. " I'm afraid I didn't give you a very good team, Jimmy," said he, and passed on. That was all; but men of th^ rival gangs had heard. In camp Long Pine Jim and his crew received chaffing with balefully red glares. Next day they stood at the lop by a good margin, and always after were com- petitors to be feared. Injin Charley, silent and enigmatical as ever, had constructed a log shack near a little creek over in the hardwood. There he attended diligently to the busi- r,e:-..s of trapping. Thorpe had brought him a deer knife from Detroit; a beautiful instrument made of the best tool steel, in one long piece extending through the buck-horn handle. One could even break bones with it. He had also lent the Indian the assistance of two of his Marquette men in erecting the shanty; and had given him a barrel of fiour for the winter. From time to time Injin Charley brought in fresh meat, for which 'le was paid. This with his trapping, and his manufacture of moccasins, snowshoes and birch canoes. THE BLAZED TRAIL 221 lUTse, baked beans, stewed prunes, mince nie ami f, .?! aI P*^P°"^i signature. Nothing had been'hearH from Morrison & Daly. "eard , When he departed," iie left behind him four \m\. ;onff-cared, short-legged beagle hounds TI^J i."' -lemn an.ma s, ^.ho took life seriously Never I MTiile appeared in their questioning ev,'. \Vh hell-lones cchoefl over 1 ,e kno ?; r"^ "' ' ""^"°^" I« part of the color nf ,1 L • '' """^ '" '"^'^ <° an,rwrci;e?;rtt°ci ■ ,S7c;i'lr Ttlle?;,"", ^t'^ «,'""^'ed, trailing their lo"^ ears aWt to l^e St, Kh^^otTher "'4° f ^r"-'- 1" ''" "'™ -•• har.l as ever To^i,e„l "o™'"?? they wore at it as - LopeleL, bu, gloriol" ""' '"= ^''"' '°^ *^ <="" « jViKj^i '^H I , ''lllllr ,!,■**■ iii^ifc^-' 222 THE BLAZED TRAIL Little Phil, cntrustod with the alarm dock, w: ; thi^ first up in the morninj^. In tlic fearful biiiu- c(.M at an extinct camp, he li<(!nccl his lantern and with numb hands raked the ashes from the stove. A few sticks of dried pine topped by split wood of birch or maple, all well daslicd with kerosene, took the llamc eai;er!y. Then he awakencil the cook, and stole silently huo the otlfice, where Thorpe and Shearer and Andrews, tl. • surveyor, lay asleep. There quietlv he built anotlu- fire, and filled the water-pail afresh.' Bv the time tlii.' task was finished, the cook sounded many times a conch, and the sleeping camp awoke. Later Phil drew water for the other shanties, swept out all three, split wood and carried it in to the cook and to the living-camps, filled and trimmed the lamp, perhaps helped the cook. About half the remainder of the day he wielded an ax, saw and wedge in th ■ hardwood, collecting painfullv — for his strength wa~ not great — material for the constant fires it was his duty to mamtam. Often he would stand motionless in the vast frozen, creaking forest, listening with awe co the voices which spoke to him alone. There was some- thing uncanny in the misshapen dwarf with the fixed marble white face and the expressive changing eyes, — something uncanny, and something indefinably" beau- tiful. He seemed to possess an instinct which warned liim of the approach of wild animals. Long before a white man, or even an Indian, would have suspected the presence of game, little Phil would lift his head wiih a peculiar listening toss. Soon, stepping daintilv through the snow near the swamp edge, would come a deer; or pat-apat-patting on liis broad hairv paws, a lynx would steal by. Except Injin Charicv.'Phil was the only man in that country who ever saw a beaver in the open daylight. At camp sometimes when all the men were away THE BLAZED TRAIL 223 r^Lt rthcTa^'crer'oT,?! '? ''"'''' ^^^^'^ ^'^^ a tl>e board ends t harmadc o it f^ '^"r;'^"""^ ^^''^h and play to InnKscl so t ' on his violm ° v'"'^' ^^'^'"• iunrd liim. After sunn r I , V ?\ ^"^ ""^ ^'^^ cll^ to he m.n-1 dS" '''v;?!;'";^'^^^^^^^'^ to fid- uorkcd !M-n)sclf to a ccmV, n, 1 ' r^''""" '^^ J^raduallv eyes .dared uiti;tl l- o X m IdTr""^^: ^^'^ vulK^-irly atrocious and out^ o? ttnj '''^ "^"^'^ ^^'^^ se^:;rity " BH;uH;I:"nor''' 'n "^^^"^^ '"— ^ ^ the northeast a con n°ne"d In n f"?^ ^^'^''^""■^ ^'■^'" was full of it -Vm rr " ^ •"^'' ''"'"'J- ^''^e air glass. The men wor'kec?;. P^rY"''- 1''^^ ^'^^ ^'"^^ °^ covered after a sleet Som'r''' '''.'^' '' ^' ^ tree is to work at all for hn ir- f ^""'" '^ "'^-^ impossible allow a bad nJ^r^i ■:;' ^'': l;\''!"^= ^^ ^'^"^P^ ^'^ "«' instant a lull fell on he su rm ^ho ''"'''■"°°"- '^^'^ scaling rule, and he exnec edfl ''^' °"' ^^''^'^ ^'"^ somethinc? to scale. UcZt.V '^"T '^ ^^'c him the throat, and shook fro^'t' n ice o7' "'"^''" ^^ the forest was as b °lu aslT^ '° r","'""^'^ '^''' strange w. ! shadow A 1 hv • ^ "^^^"hffht. In the -Mole^silentlv, or broke into viir';"!"'^^ '^'' ^^'^'^'^^ struck the t'rail of^nm; F "lulat.ons as they va•"" nMKst fnl-u' , ra Pile o/'"r'r^'?' ^^''^^ ^''^^ means, This trcnu-n -^ 4 1 /T, ;''.V;"'^^-'"? ""■'^' '" '^""^^'!'' stream. When the vfn :r 1 ^' '"•^'^'^ ^^""'^ ^^ ^'le rated ancl f oau Pp "^^^^^^^^^^^ "^N"' ''"' ^" '^^ ''^''■ process is an interim imnV'r'" ''" ''''''^''^- ^he water filled wi^h^k^'tin" ice '' "^ ^° '''''' "^'^^^ '" damsJi;r,:s-;i!S-rhr;;p,!;;^ti^^"^^^^^^^^^ '"&'• When the logs vvereTn iVh 7?'^' °^ '^"^■ gates were raised and f h,.^ ?^ (i'stnbution. the them down ' P'^^'''" '^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ter floated Now the river bcintr navi-rnKlo ti, of certain rights on it T "i ' V'7^^ '''^' possessed ^ normal heiro wVr \. I "'""-' /^' ^^'"^ ^^"''^1"^ to special head, ac^orchn' to "'""" '''^ ""^■^^^''' ^'- ^' ^ owning the da^ ">?1 -^7'"','"^ "■'^'' ^'^^ P^'-'ies Morrison & D^v inin'l ',"/''' '^'''''' '^^ ^^""'' that banks. Tho neTdrK. "'7 ^'*^^''"^" '^'^^^h, rocky packed. Tl^Sua' n v;:"ckSr^/!r"^^ ^^^^ f^octs ran here and th^^V " '^'""- -V'" '''"'' spiked another, pushlnV.";;,.';',;^.,,, 'eZ "'1"°'""" ""^ " one log, "■«^X.'.Tt*fc • .... ■ "... '^ r. ir7v .JT'^- 226 THE BLAZED TRAIL retardinc? another, working like beavers to keep the whole mass stiai^^ht. The cmiic surface of the water was praciica.ly cuverd with the lloatint; timbers. A moment's retiection will show the importance of pre- servini,' a full hea'l of waler. The m^ued bv [ud-c .Sherman enjounng Ihorpc against inttriVring uuh the prop- erty of Morrison & Daly, -to wit. certain lianis erected at designated points on tiic Os.-,awinamakee mere had not elapsed snftKiuit time nnce the cop;- nussion of the offense for the other firm to secure ilie J.^suance of this interesting document, so it was at once evident that tlv; whole affair had been pre- ?''-'^"?.^^ , '>■ ^^'^ "P-ruer firm for the purpose of block- ing oft Ihorpes drive. After serving tlie injunction. the rifhcial rode away. . Thorpe called his foreman. The latter read jnnction attentively through a pair of steel spectacles. Ul all the consummate gall!" exploded Thorpe. Irving to cnjom me from toucliin- a dam when iicy re rctusing me the natural How! Thev must have brihc.l that fool judge. Whv. lus injunction isn't worth the powder to blow it Uj)! " ;;Thcn you're all right, ain't vc?" inquired Tim. it li be the Ui: idle of summer before we -ot a hearing in court," said he. '• Uh, they're a cute lav- out ! 1 hey expect to hang me up until it's too late to do anything with the season's cut! " He arose and began to pace back and forth iim said he, "is there a man in the crew who's atraid of nothing an would say to each other. As formerly, he learned on his arrival that she was not at home. It was the penalty of an attempted sur- prise. Mrs. Renwick proved not nearly so cordial as the year before; but Thorpe, absorbed in his eagerness, did not notice it. If he had, he might have guessed the truth: that the long propinquity of the fine and the commonplace, however safe at first from the insulation of breeding and natural kindliness, was at last begin- ning to generate sparks. No, Mrs. Renwick did not know where Helen was: thought she had gone over to the Hughes's. The Hughes live two blocks down the street and three to the right, in a brown house back from, the street. Very well, then; she would expect Mr. Thorpe {r spend the night. The latter wandered slowlv down the charming driveways of the little western town. The broad dusty street was brown with sprinkling from numberless garden hose. A double row of big soft maples met over it, a id shaded the siilewalk and part of the wide lawns. The grass was fresh and green. Houses wi'h capacious verandas on which were glimpsed easv 230 I. THE BLAZED TRAIL 131 cn?'"t ^^i hammocks, sent forth a i . iow from a silk-shaded lamp or two. Across . evenin° air floated the sounds of light conversat. nd lau?dnel from these verandas, the tinkle of a b. ^"Jhe th u" h r?anT th rf "t," ^^TI^'"^ '''''''''' and humme" litre and there. 1 heir delicious artificial coolnp« struck refresinngly against the cheek. ''' Ihorpe found the Hughes residence without diffi Sn 'hr t^ns":? 7 'r ^^^^'^'^^ ^^'^'^' ^° tlL vera'dt ^n the steps of the latter a rug had been sorcad A dozen youths and maidens lounged in well-bred case "esses "of vaf'"; Jhe . gleant of ^-hlte'sumn (iresses, of variegated outing clothes he nmflp nf Too ^e' 0.';;"': 'L°/ '°"'' «•'?-" "'"Sl'ter cSsel inorpe, so th.u, as he approachec the hVht f-om a tnll ^njp just msKk.. the hall, he hesitated, vfinly TrWnV to makeout the hgures before him ^ ^^ flua^errrto'meJJIrm:''"^^ '''' ^""^ '-^' ^^ "-<^ Oh, Harry! What a surprise!" she cried and hung her arms about his neck to kiss him ' How do you do, Helen," he replied sedately This was the meeting he had aniicipated so lonrr a'el^n^em on -s £icte';^^^^ '''''' '''' ^ ^^^"^ fnV^n\'"^%''''^^''' ^^'^'" ^""""^^ 'o introduce him to her t on J,; .•'''', '°^' ''^''^ °^' '^^''- commonplacT recep- >e wonl l"^'''''' '" ^ ^^■^'•"^'-^^ effusion of feehnS. V ere out of date and worn; and that, thou<-h his rar nage was notably strong and grace ..the trifling Imo^an ^I'-'f t^' °^ f ^'^""'^'^ ^'^>-^' ^^^ '-- - almost an awkwardness after two years amonr- imrnl s:::sicr7hin!:°""^^^^^°"^^^"-^^-"s^ He took a place on the steps and sat without saying !\. it '-|il 232 THE BLAZED TRAIL a word all the evening. There was nothing for him to say. These young people talked thoughtlessly, as young people do, of the affairs belonging to their own little circle. Thorpe knew nothing of the cotillion, or the brake ride, or of the girl who visited Alice Souther- land; all of which gave occasion for so much lively comment. Nor was the situation improved when some of them, in a noble effort at politeness, turned the con- versation into more general channels. The topics of the day's light talk were absolutely unknown to him. The plays, the new books, the latest popular songs, jokes depending for their point on an intimate knowl- edge of the prevailing vaudeville mode, were as un- familiar to him as Miss Alice Southerland's guest. He had thought pine and forest and the trail so long, that he found these square-elbowed subjects refusing to be jostled aside by any trivialities. So he sat there silent in the semi-darkness. This man, whose lightest experience would have aroused the eager attention of the entire party, held his peace because he thought he had nothing to say. He took Helen back to Mrs. Renwick's about ten o'clock. They walked slowly beneath the broad- leaved maples, whose shadows danced under the tall electric lights, — and talked. Helen was an affectionate, warm-hearted girl. Or- dinarily she would have been blind to everything except the delight of having her brother once more with her. But his apparently cold reception had first chilled, then thrown her violently into a critical mood. His subsequent social inadequacy had settled her into the common-sense level of everyday life. "How have you done, Harry?" she inquired anx- iously. " Your letters have been so vague." " Pretty well," he replied. " If things go right, I hope some dav to have a better place for you than this." i: THE BLAZED TRAIL 233 Her heart contracted suddenly. It was all she could do to keep from bursting into tears. One wouUl have to realize perfectly her youth, the life to which she had been accustomed, the lack of encouragement she had labored under, the distastefulness of her surroundin-s the pent-up dogged patience she had displayed during the last two years, the hopeless feeling of battering agamst a brick wall she always experienced when ^he received the replies to her attempts on Harry's confi- dence, to appreciate how the indefiniteness of his ai -^ er exasperated her and filled her with sullen de- spair. She said nothing for twenty steps. Then • - ' ^''^''l.^^^^ ^^^^ quietly, " can't you take me away trom Mrs. Renwick's this year?" " I don't know, Helen. I can't tell yet. Not iust now, at any rate." ^ " Harry," she cried, " you don i Know wtiat you're doing. ^^ I tell you I can't stand Mrs. Renwick any 'onger. She calmed herself with an efiort, and went on more quietly. " Really, Harry, she's awfully dis- agreeable. If you can't afford to keep me anywhere else — she glanced timidly at his face and for the first time savv the strong lines about the jaw and the tiny furrows between the eyebrows. " I know you've worked hard, Harry dear," she said with a sudden sym- pathy, and that you'd give me more, if you could, but so have I worked hard. Now we ought to change this in some way. I can get a position as teacher, or tl°^?'° "^^'^ somewhere. Won't you let me do Thorpe was thinking that it would be easy enough to obtain Wallace Carpenter's consent to his taking a thousand dollars from the profits of the year. But he knew also that the struggle in the courts might need every cent the new company could spare. It would look much better were he to wait until after the ver- Qict. If favorable, there would be no difficulty about {■;i »34 THE BLAZED TRAIL sparing the money. If adverse, there would be no money to spare. The latter contingency he did not seriously anticipate, but still it had to be considered. And so, until the thincj was absolutely certain, he hesi- tated to explain the situation to Helen for fear of dis- appointing^ her! " I think you'd better wait, Helen," said he. " There'll be time enough for all that later when it be- comes necessary. You are very young yet, and it v.il! not hurt you a bit to continue your education for a lit- tle while longer." " And in the meantime stay with Mrs. Renwick ? " flashed Helen. " Yes. I hope it will not have to be for very long. ' "How long do you think, Harry?" pleaded the girl. " That depends on circumstances," replied Thorpe. " Oh! " she cried indignantly. " Harry," she ventured after a time, " why not write to Uncle Amos? " Thorpe stopped and looked at her searchingly. '.' You can't mean that, Helen," he said, drawing a long breath. " But why not ? " she persisted. " You ought to know." " Who would have done any different ? If you ha 1 a brother and discovered that he had — appropriate.! — m.ost all the money of a concern of which you wuc president, wouldn't you thhik it your duty to have him arrested? " "No!" cried Thorpe suddenly excited. "Never! If he was my brother, I'd help him, even if he'd com- mitted murder! " _ " We differ there," replied the girl coldly. " I con- sider that Uncle Amos was a strong man who did his duty as he saw it, in spite of his feelings. That he had father arrested is nothing against him in my eyes. THE BLAZED TRAIL 235 And his wanting us to come to him since, seems to mc very generous. I am going to write to him " \ou will do nothing of the kind," commanded Thorpe sternly. " Amos Thorpe is an unscrupulous man who became unscrupulously rich. He deliber- ately used our father as a tool, and then destroyed him I consider that anyone of our family who would have anything to do with him is a traitor ! " The girl did not reply. Ne.xt morning Thorpe felt uneasilv repentant for his strong language. After all, the girl'did lead a monot- onous life, and he could not blame her for rebelling against it from time to time. Ilcr remarks had been born of the rebellion ; they had meant nothing in them- selves. He could not doubt for a moment her loyalty to the family. ' But he did not tell her so. That is not the way of men of his stamp. Rather he cast about to see what he could do. Injin Charley had, during the winter just past, occu- pied odd moments in embroidering with beads and porcupine quills a wonderful outfit of soft buckskin gauntlets, a shirt of the same material, and moccasins of moose-hide. They were bcautifuily worked, and Ihorpe, on receiving them, had at once conceived the idea of giving them to his sis.jr. To this end he had consulted another Indian near Marquette, to whom he had confided the task of reducing the gloves and moc- c:isins. The shirt would do as it was. for it was in- tended to be worn as a sort of belted blouse. As has been said, all were thicklv beaded, asid represented a vast quantity of work. Probably fiflv dollars could nut have bought them, even in the north country. Ihorpe tendered this as a peace offering. Not understanding women in the least, he was surprised to sec his gilt received by a burst of tears and a sudden exit from the room. Helen thought he had bought t ' ' f I |F 236 THE BLAZED TRAIL , t the things; and she was still sore from the pinch of the poverty she had touched the evening before. Nothing will exasperate a woman more than to be pre- sented with something expensive for which she docs not particularly care, after being denied, on the ground of economy, something she v \nts very much. ''horpe stared after her in hurt astonishment. Mrs. Renwick sniffed. That afternoon the latter estimable lady attempted to reprove Miss Helen, and was snubbed; she per- sisted, and an open quarrel ensued. " I will not be dictated to by you, Mrs. Renwick," said Helen, " and I don't intend to have you interfere in any way with my family affairs." " They won't stand much investigation," replied Mrs. Renwick, goaded out of her placidity. Thorpe entered to hear the last two speeches. He said nothing, but that night he wrote to Wallace Car- penter for a thousand dollars. Every stroke of the pen hurt him. Buc of course Helen could not stay here now. " And to think, just to think that he let that woman insult me so, and didn't say a word ! " cried Helen to herself. Her method would have been to have acted irrevo- cably on the spot, and sought ways and means after- wards. Thorpe's, however, was to perfect all his plans before making the first step. Wallace Carpenter was not in town. Before the letter had followed him to his new address, and the answer had returned, a week had passed. Of course the money was gladly put at Thorpe's disposal. The latter at one? interviewed his sister. " Helen," he said, " I have made arrangements for some money. What would you like to do this year ? " She raised her head and looked at him with clear bright gaze. If he could so easily raise the money, ^n THE BLAZED TRAIL 237 why had he not done so before? He knew how much she wanted it. Her happiness did not count. Only JJi 7L If TT'"" 't^' "^ ^^""'^ '^°"°^ ''^'^ attacks did he bestir lumself. "' WhlrT''"^' ^ \'"r}' ^''"?''''" ^''^ ''P^'^'^ distinctly. What.? asked Ihorpe incredulously tnhi.°'" ""ti'''"" '''^ P,°'"^''^ ^" ^ ''^"^^'" '>'"S open on the table. Thorpe took It and read: " My dear Niece : .u^r^^ ^^'^- '^ll°''P.^ 2"^ "lyself more than rejoice that time and reflection have removed that, I must confess, natural prejudice which the unfortunate fam- ily affair, to which I will not allude, raised in your mind against us. As we said long ago, our honie is your s when you may wish to make it so. You state your present readiness to come immediately Unless you vv.re to the contrary, we shall expect you next Tuesday evening on the four:forty train. I shall be at the Central Station myself to meet vou. If your brother is now with you, I should be pleased to see ^!^. "!S'r^.'''" ^' "^^^^ ^^^PP>- to give him a pes'! tion with the firm. •' => « f^=i " AflF. your uncle, » M -ir , T ^ ' Amos Thorpe. New York, June 6, 1883." On finishing the last paragraph the reader crumpled the letter and threw it into the grate rinn'! K^i" ^""''^ ^°" "l'"^ t'^^*' ^^^^"'" ^aid he. " but I clont blame you, and it can't be helped. We won't r.cc( to take advantage of his ' kind offer ' now " " }v'i!*?'J ^° '^^ ^°' however," replied the girl coldly What do you mean?" ^ von/ ^''^^"'", '''^ '"''^; " ^^^^ I ^"^ sick of waiting on your good pleasure. I waited, and slaved and =?-od unDearaole things for two years. I did it cheerfully. •I i'l - 1- 'll *: U ' l*f i \ . It ■ - : . ■ !,.' ■ : ■; . • i f r -If ■ ■: ■ M '1 238 THE BLAZED TRAIL And in return I don't get a civil word, not a decent explanation, not even a — caress," she fairly sobbrd out the last word. " I can't stand it any lonpjcr. I have tried and tried and tried, and then when I've come to you for the littlest word of encoura>;emcnt, you have pecked at me with those stinjjy little kisses, and have told me I was young and ought to finish my education! You put nc in uncongenial surround- ings, and go off into the woods camping yourself. You refuse me money enough to live in a three-dollar boarding-house, and you buy expensive rifles and fii-h- ing tackle for yourself. You can't afford to send me away somewhere for the summer, but you bring nio back gee-gaws you have happened to fancy, worlli a month's board in the country. You haven't a cent when it is a (juestion of what / want; but you rai'-e money quick enough when your old family is insulted. Isn't it my family too? And then you blame mc be- cause, after waiting in vain two \L.as for you to "-"«■ many IJIIK'S, and you ve always a,!,Teed with me. I /r''V^Ti'''T somethinjr to the family Ke- \7' VT't""r^ au.iieiiimjT 10 tlie lamily." The flippancy was onlv a weapon which ' s in on of hi thouj.,!! he felt tit! /' '^ '*' ' ' orpe there could be no half-way yj^ :. He saw that tlic rupture with his f^ s :is final, and the thrust attained him .nprotected points. It was not as -■r himself or his sister consciously in the wrong. lie ac']uitted her of all fault, except as ti> the deadly one of misreading and misunderstanding. The fact argued not a perversion but a lack in her char- acter. She was other than he had thought her. As for himself, he had schemed, worked, lived only for her. He had come to her from the battle expect- ing rest and refreshment. To the world he had shown the hard, unyielding front of the unemotional ; he had looked ever keenly outward ; he had braced his muscles in the constant tension of endeavor. So much the more reason why, in the hearts of the few he loved, he, the man of action, should find repose ; the man of sternness, should discover that absolute peace ot the spirit in which not the slightest motion of the will is necessary; the man of repression should be per- mitted affectionate, care-free expansion of the natural afTection, of the full sympathy which will understand and not mistake for weakness. Instead of this, he was forced into refusing where he would rather have given ; into denying where he would rather have as- sented ; and finally into commanding where he longed most ardently to lay aside the cloak of authority. H'^ motives were misread; his intentions misjudged; his love doubted. But VT-orst of all, Thorpe's mind could sec no possi- 840 •v-^^ V, - ■. I THE BLAZED TRAIL 241 bility Of an explanation. If she could not see of her own accord how much l,c loved her. surely i, was a hopeless ask to atte.n,,t an explanation iluuuffh mere words If. after all. she uas capable of miseonceiTi„i the entire set of h.s n.otivcs durnij^ the past two s ears expos ulat.on would be futile. In his tliouj^hts o S he ell nito a grca spiniual (hnnbness. Never e-'n .n Ins moments of .ru.st theoretical imai^ini.uA. did he see lumsel settrnj^ befor. her fully and eahnlC e h^.r ^i ^' "'^ ? reconcdiation. many such re- mTn-rbe.r^ ''''' ''''' '" '''' '''''' '^^^'^^ «^ ^ Thorpe did not cry out. nor confide in a friend nor do anythmg even so mild as pacing the floor The only outward a,ul visible sign a close observer miglt 1 avc notec was a certain dumb pain lurk.ng i-, fhe Jlopths of Ins eyes hke those of a wounded span el He was hurt, but did not understand. He suffere in s.ence, but wnhout anger. Tins is at once the nob es" and the most pathetic of Imman sufTering At f^^rst the spring of his life seemed' broken. He d d not care tor money ; and at present disappointment had numbed us mtercst in the game. It s-'eS hardly worth the candle. Then in a fe v days, after his thoughts had ceased to dwel constantly on the one subject, he bcran to look bout nm mentally. Beneath his other intorSts h. .11 felt constantly a dull ache, something unplea'am ncomfortable. Strangely enough it was'ahnost iden-' Ua m quality vv.th the uneasiness that always undcr- ^ me detad of his busmess. L'nconsciously, — atrain n U^'r^nr^'T^'^'' combative instinct aroused T . °r f •'''■ °''J*-^^^ °" ^^•'^'^~'' to expend itself r j ;rpe s nghtmg spirit turned with energy to the subject of the law.suit. ■■4 J. 1 4^ 242 THE BLAZED TRAIL Under the unwonted stress of the psychological con- dition just described, he thought at white heat. Hi<^ ideas were clear, and followed each other quickly, almost feverishly. , • u After his sister left the Renwicks, Thorpe himself went to Detroit, where he interviewed at once Nor- throp, the brilliant young lawyer whom the firm had engaged to defend its case. " I'm afraid we have no show," he replied to Thorpe's question. " You see, you fellows were on the wrong side of the fence in trying to enforce the law yourselves. Of course you may well say that justice was all on your side. That does not count. The only recourse recognized for injustice lies in the law courts. I'm afraid you are due to lose your case." " Well," said Thorpe, " they can't prove much damage." " I don't expect that they will be able to procure a very hcav> judgment," replied Northrop. " The facts I shall be able to adduce will cut down damages. But the costs w^ill be very heavy." " Yes," agreed Thorpe. " And," then pursued Northrop with a dry smile, " they practically own Sherman. You may be in for contempt of court — at their instigation. As I under- stand it, they are trying rather to mjure you than to get anything out of it themselves." " That's it," nodded Thorpe. " In other words, it's a case for compromise." " Just what I wanted to get at," said Thorpe with satisfaction. " Now answer me a question. Suppose a man injures Government or State land by trespass. The land is afterwards bought by another narty. Has the latter anv claim for damage against the trespasser? Understand 'me, the purchaser bought after the tres- pass was committed." " Certainly," answered Northrop without hesitation. 3f^: mm ' THE BLAZED TRAIL 243 "Provided suit is brought within six years of the time the trespass was committed." '' Good ! Now see here. These M. & D. peoole stole about a section of Government pine up on that river, and I don't I)olievc they've ever bouj-ht in the and It stood on. In fact I don't beHeve thcv suspect tliat anyone knows they've been steahng. How would It do if I were lo buy that setion at the Land Office and threaten to sue them for the value of tlie pine that originally stood on it ? " The lawyer's eyes glimmered behind the lenses of his pince-nez; but, with the caution of the professional man he made no other sign of satisfaction It would do very well indeed." he replied. " but ycud have to prove they did the cutting, and vou'll have to pay experts to estimate the probable aniount of the timber. Ha^ you the description of the sec- Hon . " No " responded Thorpe, " but ^ can gca it ; and I can pick up witnesses from the woodsmen as to the cutting. " The more the better. It is rather easv to discredit the testimony of one or two. How much, on a broad guoss would you estimate the timber to come to'" 1 here ought to be about eight or ten million." guessed Thorpe alter an instant's silence, " worth in t 1.' stump anywhere from sixteen to twcntv thousand buv i?" "^"^"^ *^°'^ "''' °"^^' ^'^''^ hundred to " 1^0 so by all means. Get your documents and evulence all in shape, and let me have them. I'll see Will you sue . f^t "••>-• «\.i. iinj iidV tnat the suit is discontinued then them ? " ff L^rl'- ^ ^^''"'' "?'',' y^P"^^ '^''°''P^- " I'" i"St hold It back as a sort of club to keep them in line." 1 he next day, he took the train north. He had aomethmg definite and urgent to do, and, as alwayg -f ;; !., ' ,• 1 244 THE BLAZED TRAIL with practical affairs demanding attention and re- source, he threw himself whole-souled into the accom- plishment of it. By the time he had bought the six- teen forties constituting the section, searched out a dozen witnesses to the theft, and spent a week with the Marquette expert in looking over the ground, he had fallen into the swing of work again. His experience still ached ; but dully. Only now he possessed no interests outside of those in the new country ; no affections save the half-protect- ing, good-natured comradeship with Wallace, the mutual self-reliant respect that subsisted between Tim Shearer and himself, and the dumb, unreasoning dog- liking he shared with Injin Charley. His eye became clearer and steadier ; his methods more simple and di- rect. The taciturnity of his mood redoubled in thick- ness. He was less charitable to failure on the part of subordinates. And the new iirm on the Ossawin- amakee prospered. ii Chapter XXXV Mj ^IVE years passed. #7 In that time Thorpe had succeeded in cutting M. a hundred million feet of pine. The money re- ceived for this had all been turned back into the Com- pany's funds. From a single camp of twenty-five men, with ten horses and a short haul of half a mile, the concern had increased to six large, well-equipped com- munities of eighty to a hundred men apiece, using nearly two hundred horses, and hauling as far as eight or nine miles. Near the port stood a mammoth sawmill capable of taking care of twenty-two million feet a year, about which a lumber town had sprung up. Lake schooners lay in a long row during the summer months, while busy loaders passed the planks from one to the other into the deep holds. Besides its original holding, the company had acquired about a hundred and fifty mill- ion more, back near the headwaters of tributaries to the Ossawinamakee. In the spring and early summer months, the drive was a wonderful aflfair. During the four years in which the Morrison & Daly Company shared the stream with Thorpe, the two firms lived in complete amity and understanding. Northrop had played his cards skillfully. The older capitalists had withdrawn suit. Afterwa'rds they kept scrupulously within their rights, and saw to it that no more careless openings were left for Thorpe's shrewd- ness. They were keen enough business men, but had made the mistake, common enough to established power, of underrating the strength of an appar- 345 I I, I '■*ii tl 246 THE BLAZED TRAIL ently insignificant opponent. Once they understood Thorpe's capacity, that young man had no more chance to catch them napping. And as the younger mnn, on his side, never attempt- ed to overstep his own rights, the interests of the rival firms rarely clashed. As to the few disputes that did arise, Thorpe found Mr. Daly singularly anxious to please. In the desire was no friendliness, however. Thorpe was watchful for treachery, and could hardly believe the afifair finished when at the end of the fourth year the M. & D. sold oat the remainder of its pine to a firm from Manistee, and transferred its operations to another stream a few miles east, where it had ac- quired more considerable holdings. " They're altogether too confounded anxious to help us on that freight, Wallace," said Thorpe wrinklin<^ his brow uneasily. " I don't like it. It isn't natural. ' " No," laughed Wallace, " neither is it natural for a dog to draw a sledge. But he does it — when he has to. They're afraid of you, Harry: that's all." Thorpe shook his head, but had to acknowledge that he could evidence no grounds for his mistrust. The conversation took place at Camp One, which was celebrated in three states. Thorpe had set out to gather around him a b nd of good woodsmen. Ex' cept on a pinch he would employ no others. " I don't care if I get in only two thousand feet this winter, and if a boy does that," he answered Shearer's expostulations, " it's got to be a good boy." The result of his policy began to show even in the second year. Men were a little proud to say that they had put in a winter at " Thorpe's One." Those who had worked there during the first year were loyally en- thusiastic over their boss's grit and resourcefulness, their camp's order, their cook's good " grub." As they were authorities, others perforce had to accept the dic- tum. There grew a desire among the better class to Ih THE BLAZED TRAIL 247 •ee what Thorpe's "One" might be like In the au umn Harry had more applicants than he knew vvh^ ni .1 '• „^'-hteen of the old men returned He oun\> thl i ''"' ''^■'" '\ ^^"^^ '^ distribution 'three loun^ themselves ass.-ncd to one or the otlier of tho new camps And quietly the rumor gained tat these three had shown the least willing spirit 1 hi til prenous wmter. The other fifteen were obe ed to t:^S^j'''' "-'^ '-n--"-^ as veterans mlg!,^ Tim Shearer was foreman of Camp One • Scottv oItZ'-'tT '^'''''' '''"' ^'^^ veterans^oTake charg^ of fuo; Thorpe engaged two men known to Tim ?o hoss hrce and Four. Hut i„ selecting the " push " f^? :.ve he displayed most :nrikint;lv \l k^n^ v^da t>on of a man-s relation to his environmcnl He th^try^^" ""^'-'^ -' "^^'"-^ "•""- aec^ " "i ou can do it, John." said he, " and I know it T want you to try: a,.d if you .lon't imke h r go T -call It nobody s fault but my own " Branclf dear'Ar';" rr" '^''' "f-"^ '*' ^^''' ^^at Cass brokeX ''j'm T 'Tf'./'J'''^^^ ^^"^''^y-' almost ?ck of innfi \ '''°"''' ''■'^ *° tackle it, Im dead sick of loafing. Sometniies it seems Hke I'd di^ if T du" t get out in the woods again " ^' '^ ^ \ e II call it a deal, then." answered Thorpe ofT lo rf^ ^^'^^'^'^ '^'^ ^^-^acity. Radwa> u^s one he best foremen in the outfit. He got more our comnl-"/'",' ^'' '""'^' '^^"^'- ^° <^n^ergencicta d he ac oh lo h "'^''■' '''''^' ^'^^ ^ame resources than any vol; ^?' ^^"P^'"§: '^'i'" Shearer. As long as the effi em" S;iv '"\ ^°T^"" ^'^^' ''' -^-^ capa^lfand on 1 , "l" - ""''''" '^^ ^^'as called upon to demand onju.^ own account, did the paralyzing' shyness Xl But the one feature that did more to attract the veo' k: ■Ml 248 THE BLAZED TRAIL if best element among woodsmen, and so make possibl( the practice of Thorpe's theory of success, was Carnj One. The men's accommodations at the other fivi were no different and but Uttle better than those in ; thousand other typical kimber camps of both penin sulas. They slept in box-like bunks filled with hay o straw over which blankets were spread ; they sat on ; narrow hard bench or on the flour ; they read by tin dim light of a lamp fastened against the big cros beam ; they warmed themselves at a huge iron stovi in the center of the room around which suspendci wires and poles offered space for the drying of socks they washed their clothes when the mood struck thcni It was warm and comparatively clean. But it \va dark, without ornament, cheerless. The lumber-jack never expects anything difTcrent In fact, if he were pampered to the extent of ordinar; comforts, he would be apt at once to conclude himsel indispensable ; whereupon he would become worthies? Thorpe, however, spent a little money — not niuci — and transformed Camp One. Every bunk was pro vided with a tick, which the men cnuld fill with ha\ balsam, or hemlock, as suited them. Cheap but at tractive curtains on wires at once brightened the roon and shut each man's ' bedroom " from the main lial The deacon seat remained, but was supplemented b a half-dozen simple and comfortable chairs. In th center of the room stood a big round table over whic! glowed two hanging lamps. The table was liUcrc| with papers and magazines. Home life was sti further suggested by a canary bird in a gilt cage, sleepy cat, and two pots of red geraniums. Thorp had further imported a washerwoman who dwelt in separate little cabin under the hill. She washed th men's belongings at twenty-five cents a week, whic imonnt Thorpe deducted from each man's wages wnether he had the washing done or not. This en 1^ THE BLAZED TRAIL 249 couraged cleanliness. Phil scrubbed out every day while the .Tien were in the woods. Such was Thorpe's famous Camp One in the davs of Its splendor. Oid woodsmen will still tell you about It, with a longing reminiscent glimmer in the cornets of their eyes as they recall its glories and the men who vvorked in ,t. To have " put in " a winter in Camp One was the mark of a master; and the ami, it ion (ft every raw recruit to the forest. Probably Thorpe's name IS remembered to-day more on account of the intrepid, skillful loyal men his strange genius gath- ered about it. than for the herculean feat of havine carved a great fortune from the wilderness in but five years time. But Camp One was a privilege. A man enteiec' it only after having proved himself; he remained in it only as long as his efficiency deserved the honor Its members were invariably recruited from one of the other four camps ; never from applicants who had not \IZ '" T°T\I f"'f^'°y- ^ '""'^ '"^" was sent to Scotty. or Jack Hyland, or Radway, or Kerlie. There he was given a job. if he happened to suit, and men o Camp One fell sick or was given his time, Tim bhearer would send word to one of the other five that ne needed an axman or a sawyer, or a loader, or team- ster, as the case might be. The best man in the other camps was sent up. So Shearer was foreman of a picked crew. Proba- r.^r T^l^^^'^y of "len was ever gathered at one camp. In them one could study at his best the Amer- ican pioneer. It was said at that time that you had vfjf 7^T '°^?'"J^ "^""^ ^' •* should be until you had Msitcd Thorpe s Camp One on the Ossawinamakee. Ut these men Thorpe demanded one thing — suc- cess^ He tried never to ask of them anvthin- he did not believe to be thoroughly possible ; but he expected ll i=l,jl if II H % , |.y 2^0 THE BLAZED TRAIL always that in some manner, by hook or crook, they would carry the affair through. No matter how (jood the excuse, it was never accepted. Accidents would happen, there as elsewhere ; a way to arrive in spite of thcni always exists, if only a man is willing to use his wits, unllagging energy, and time. Uad luck is a real- ity ; but much of what is called bad luck is nothing but a want of careful foresight, and Thorpe could better afford to be harsh occasionally to the genuine for tl.c sake of eliminating the false. If a man failed, he kit Camp One. The procedure was very simple. Thorpe never ex- plained his reasons even to Shearer. " Ask Tom to step in a moment," he requested of the latter. " Tom," he said to that individual, " I think I can use you better at I'our. Report to Kerlie there." And strangely enough, few even of these proud and independent men ever asked for their time, or pre- terred to quit rather than to work up again to the glories of their prize camp. For while new recruits were never accepted at Camp One, neither was a man ever discharged there. He was merely transferred to one of the other lore- men. li is necessary to be thus minute in order that the reader may understand exactly the class of niUi Thorp'^ had aboii*^ his immediate person. Some oi them had the reputation of being the hardest citizens in three States, others were mild as turtle doves. They were all pioneers. They had t- independence, the unabashed eye, the insubordina' even, of the man who has drawn his intellectual a. moral nour- ishment at the brer-st of a wild nature. They wore afraid of nothing alive From no one, were he chore- boy or president, would they take a single word — with the exception always of iini ^hearei ana Thorpe, %?! •s!^lf''.'^j'A^ THE BLAZED TRAIL 251 The former they respected because in their nictur- es,jue ^u.ld he was a master craftsman. T he atter tl.cy adored and quoted and fought for n distant saloons because he represented to theni ci r "n .< ca!, wliat they would be if freed from tiie hea -3 JT es of J.ce and executive incapaci:y that weighed 'them And they were loyal. It was a point of honor with them to stay untd the last dog was liun- "He v n deserted m the hour of need was not on y a renegade I>ut a fool. Lor he tl,us earned a .nagnincem Sn^ over he ran up against a member of the •* iV-' itinf l-orty. A band of soldiers they were readv to at^ tempt anything their connnander orde'rei demoted' n hus.ast.cally admiring. And. it must be confes el' they were also somewhat on the order of a baml of sh.;ngdowJt::;^:^:!;.{fc,-^,-^:^ -buy. new fixtures when they went away; but "^ w'as IVoud! it was no name for it Rmcti tu c e Camp One spread abroad ovo ';,„'',r„d a Lt'aTbe Have given it a reputation. The lattor u J , • ^ enough in tmti, I: 7 '^^icr was varied n;;«trs^ri-n,eirr,-?';'--:t',,s:-dc°"s'= "cr of 1!,'!; ';■ ""'' "'■ri'-' "P''' calculaliu,,'; ohhc tun,-' W°oVh?,; ',-,:? S'" r-"' ■". " -'»■ they could g"c. tas purpose he mamuined a hgh't box sieigh and I 'I H V- H ^' 4 : ri »52 THE BLAZED TRAIL -#^d ■f*.**.- I .1 pair of bays, though often, when the snow became deep, he was forced to snowshoes. During the five years he had never crossed the Straits of Mackinaw. The rupture with his sister had made repugnant to him all the southern country. He preferred to remain in the woods. All winter long he was more than busy at his logging. Summers he spent at the mill. Occasionally he visited Marquette, but always on business. He became used to seeing only the rough faces of men. The vision of softer graces and beauties lost its distinctness before this strong, hardy northland, whose gentler moods were like velvet over iron, or like its own summer leaves veiling the eternal darkness of the pines. He was happy because he was too busy to be any- thing else. The insistent need of success which he had created for himself, absorbed all other sentiments. He demanded it of others rigorously. He could do no less than demand it of himself. It had practically be- come one of his tenets of belief. The chief end of anv man, as he saw it, was to do well and successfully what his life found ready. Anything to further this for^*- ordained activity was good ; anything else was bad. These thoughts, aided by a disposition naturally fer- vent and single in purpose, hereditarily ascetic and conscientious — for his mother was of old New Eng- land stock — gave to him in the course of six years' striving a sort of daily and familiar religion to which he conformed his life. Success, success, success. Nothing could be of more importance. Its attainment argued a man's effi- ciency in the Scheme of Things, his worthy fulfillment of the end for which a divine Providenc ■ had placed him on earth. Anything that interfered with it, — per- sonal comfort, inclination, affection, desire, love of ease, individual liking, — was bad. Luckily for Thorpe's peace of mind, his habit of .-**.ir?> f"'ii'"-' wm W '.m^m^mmF^ THE BLAZED TRAIL 253 ookmg on men as tl^ngs helped him keop to lais at- t tude of muKl. 1 ,s lumbermen were t.,,j|s --"oJ.J sharp, efficient tools, to be sure, but or.Iy bec.u^e he .ad made them so. Thei, loyalty aroused nhs hn,si no pride nor j,^ratitude. He expectl'd ioyaltt e would have discharged at once a ma'i vl^'o d?d oi s"nv It. he same u.tl. zeal, intelligence effort-! tl -y were the things he took for granted As for th7 a^I.n.rat.on and nffection which f-e Fighting l-Wtv to Jt. ^ And^the men knew it. and loved him the m?re Thorpe cared for just three people, and none of them happened to clash with i.is machine Th "y ?v^?e Wa^ lace Carpenter. Imle Phil. an=».;d was the hunt aban- doned for a few days. Wr.ll.c Carpenter announced Jourlds' °^ ^°'"'"^ '"^^'^^ ""'^ ^''^ diminutive tried racl''''^Aj.'.M '"' 1' ^^^'^'^^^ " ^^ laughed at the tnea pack. We 11 get one to-morrow." J>o he took h.s shotgun to the swamp, and after a half hour s wait, succeeded in killing the 1 are Frorn that moment he was the hero of those ecstacized?^^ nmcs. They tangled about him everywhere He hardly dared take a step for fear of crushing one of ID a^C V '"^ expectant, pleading eyes looking iipathim. It grew to be a nuisance. Wallace alwavs cla.med his trip was considerably shortened because he could not get away from his admirers i li^ M^M Chapter XXXVI ^FINANCIALLY the Company was rated high, #y and yet was heavily in debt. This condition of M. affairs by no means constitutes an anomaly in the lumbering business. The profits of the first five years had been immedi- ately reinvested in the business. Thorpe, with the foresight that had originally led him into this now country, saw farther than the instant's p,.iin. He in- tended to establish in a few years more a big plant which would be returning benefices in proportion not only to the capital originally invested, but also in rrtio to the energy, time, and genius he had himself ex- pended. It was not the affair of a moment. It was not the affair of half-measures, of timidity. Thorpe knew that hri could play safely, cutting a few millions a year, expanding cautioufly. By this method he would arrive, but only after a long period. Or he could do as many other firms have done; start on borrowed money. In the latter case he had only one thing to fear, and that was fire. Every cent, and many times over, of his obligations would be represented in the state oi raw material. All he had to do was to cut it out by the very means which the yearly profits of his busi- ness would enable him to purchase. For the moment, he owed a great deal ; without the shadow of a doubt mere industry would clear his debt, and leave hmi with substantial acquisitions created, practically, from nothing but his own abilities. The money obtained K»ra hie mortgages was a tool which be picked up •96 '!f ii THE BLAZED TRAIL 257 an instant, used to fashion one of his own, and laid aside. Every autumn the Company found itself suddenly in easy circumstances. At any moment that Thorpe had chosen to be content \vith tlic progress made he could have, so to speak, declared dividends with 'his partner. Instead of undertaking more improvements for part of which he borrowed some money, he cotild have divided the profits of the season's cut. But this he was not yet ready to do. He had established' five more camps, he had acquired over a hundred and fifty million more of timber lyinsr contiguous to his own, he had built aiicl equipped a modern high-efficiency mill, he had constructed a har- bor break-water and the necessary booms, he had bought a tug, built a boarding-house. All this costs money He wished now to construct a logging rail- road. Then he promised himself and Wallace that they would be ready to commence paying operations, the logging railroad was just then beginnincr to gair. recognition. A few miles of track, a locomodve and a number of cars consisting uniquely of wheels and bunks, or cross beams on which to chain the ogs. and a fairly well-graded right-of-wav comprised tlie outfit. Its use obviated tlie necessity of driving the *T'^'",~,^.'^^'^^'^^ ^" expensive operation. Often, too. the decking at the skidways coul.l be dispensed with ' and the sleigh hauls, if not entirely superseded for the remote districts, were entirely so in the comitrv for a hah mile on either side of the track, and in aiiy ca^e were greatly shortened. There obtained, too, the ad- ouional advantage of being able to cut summer and winter alike. Ihus, the plant once established lo"-- mg by railroad was not only ea.-.ier but cheaper Of late years it has come into almost universal use in big jobs and wherever the natn,e ol .he couiUrv will per- mit- ihc old-fasiaoued, piclurcMiuc ice-roud sleigh- If i'mii* 258 THE BLAZED TRAIL , 1 -11 Uct oc lontr as north-woods lumbering,— tt" tWa^lroa"d° ej,r^^ 1° tit'SCor qT- li ilsUbit doesn't ac 'I THE BLAZED TRAIL »59 fust right he must doctor it up; or get some more, even if he has to steal it. If he has hard luck, he muai sit up nights to better it. It's none of my concern how- hard or how easy a time a man has in doing wliai 1 tell him to. / expect him to do it. If I have to do all a man's thinking for him, I may as well hire Swedes and be done with it. I have too many details to attend to already without bothering about excuses." The man stood puzzling over this logic. " I ain't got any other job," he ventured. " You can go to oiling on the docks," replied Thorpe, " if you want to." Thorpe was thus explicit because he rather liked Herrick. It was hard for him to discharge the man peremptorily, and he proved the need of justifying himself in his own eyes. Now he sat back idly in the clean painted little room with the big square desk and the three chairs. Through the door he could see Collins, perched on a high stool before the shelf-like desk. From tiie open window came the clear, nmsical note of the circular saw, the fresh aromatic smell of new lumber, the brac- ing air from Superior sparkling in the ofBng. He felt tired. In rare moments such as these, when the mus- cles of his striving relaxed, his mind turned to the past. Old sorrows rose before him and looked at liim with their sad eyes; tlie sorro\^s that had helped to make him what he was. He wondered where his sister was. She would be twenty-two years old now. A tender- ness, haunting, tearful, invaded his heart. He suf- fered. At such moments the hard shell of his rough woods life seemed to rend apart. He longed witli a great longing for sympathy, for love, for the softer inlluences that cradle even warriors between the clangors of the battles The outer door, beyond the cage behind which Col- U&s and his shelf desk were placed, ilew open. Thorpr < fi rt •^ M 26o THE BLAZED TRAIL heard a brief greeting, and Wallace Carpenter stood before him. " Why, Wallace, I didn't know you were coming ! " began Thorpe, and stopped. The boy, usually so fresh and happily buoyant, looked ten years older. Wrinkles had gathered between his eyes. " Why, what's the matter? " crice Thorpe. He rose swiftly and shut the door into the outer office. Wallace seated himself mechanically. "Everything! everything!" he said in despair. " I've been a fool ! I've been blind ! " So bitter was his tone that Thorpe was startled. The lumberman sat down on the other side of the desk. " That'll do, Wallace," he said sharply. " Tell me briefly what is the matter." " I've been speculating! " burst out the boy. " Ah ! " said his partner. " At first I bought only dividend-paying stocks out- right. Then I bought for a rise, but still outright. Then I got in with a fellow who claimed to know ail about it. I bought on a margin. There came a slump. I met the margins because I am sure tliere will be a rally, but now all my fortune is m the thing. I'm going to be penniless. Ill lose it all." " Ah ! " said Thorpe. " And the name of Carpenter is so old-established, so honorable ! " cried the unhappy boy, " and my sister! " '■ Easy ! " warned Thorpe. " Being penniless isn't the worst thing that can happen to a man." " No ; but I am in debt," went on the boy more calmly. " I have given notes. When they come due, I'm a goner." " How much ? " asked Thorpe laconically. '* Thirty thousand dollars." " Well, you have that amount in this firm." THE BLAZED TRAIL 261 " What do you mean ? " " If you want it, you can have it." Wallace considered a w^ament. " T^^y ^°"^^ ^^^^^ "^^ vvithout a cent," he replied. ^^ But It would save your commercial honor." Harry," cried Wallace suddenly, "couldn't this firm go on my note for thirty thousand more.? Its credit IS good, and that amount would save my mar- gins." "^ " You aic partner," replied Thorpe, ' your signa- ture IS as good as mine in this firm." " But you know I wouldn't do it without your con- sent, replied Wallace reproachfully. " Oh, Harry I " cried the boy, " when you needed the amount. I let you have it ! " Thorpe smiled, " You know you can have it, if it's to be had, Wal- lace. I wasn't hesitating on that account. I was merely trying to figure out where we can raise such a sum as sixty thousand dollars. We haven't got it." " But you'll never have to pay it," assured Wallace eagerly. " If I can save my margins, I'll be all right." • A man has to figure on paying whatever he puts his signature to," asserted Thorpe. " I can give you our note payable at the end of a year. Then 1 11 hustle in enough timber 10 make up the amount. It means we don t get our railroad, that's all." "I knew you'd help me out. Now it's all right," said Wallace, with a relieved air. Thorpe shook his head. He was already trying to ^"r.i'°^^ ^° increase his cut to thirty million feet. I il do It," he muttered to himself, after Wallace had gone out to visit the mill. " I've been demanding success of others for a good many years; now I'll de- mand It of myself." if if i ! -k'{ THE BLJZED TRAIL r Part IV Thorpe's Dream Girl r I !i tf \% I i •? Iff i il 1 i' f f- 1 i \A r*v#i^ *, '• 'I II Chapter XXXVII rHE moment had struck for the woman. Thorpe did not know it, but it was true. A solitary, brooding hfe in the midst of grand surroundings, an active, .strenuous life among great responsibilities, a sMrved, hungry life of the affections wheivo even the sister had withdrawn her love, — all these had worked unobtrusively towards the forma- tion of a single psychological condition. Such a mo- ment comes to every man. In it he realizes the beau- ties, the powers, the vastnesses which unconsciously his being has absorbed. They rise to the surface as a need, which, being satisfied, is projected into the visi- ble world as an ideal to be worshipped. Then is happi- ness and misery beside which the mere struggle to dominate men becomes trivial, the petty striving with tile forces of nature seems a little thing. And the woman he at that time meets takes on the qualities of the dream ; she is more than woman, less than god- dess ; she is the best of that man made visible. Thorpe found himself for the first time filhd with tli.: spirit of restlessness. His customarv iron even- ness of temper was gone, so that he wandered quickly |rom one detail of his work to another, without seem- ing to penetrate below the surface-need of any one task. Out of the present his mind was always escap- ing to a mystic fourth dimension which he did not understand. But a week before, he had felt himself absorbed in the componert parts of his enterprise, the totality of which arched far over his head, shutnng out the sky. Now he was outside of it. He had, without 86s ■i tr i >66 THE BLAZED TRAIL his volition, abandoned the creator's standpoint of the god at the heart < f hi"^^ work. It scemcl as important as frrcat to him, but somehow it had tale finished as it iiad bef^un, — an.i could not discover in himself the Titan who had watched over its inception. Thorpe took this siai^ of mind much to heart, and in combatinR it cxpende I moic energy than would have sufficed to accompUsh the work. Inexorably he held himself to the task. He filled liis mmd full of lumbering. The iMlhons along the bank on section nine must be cut and travoyed diivclly i the rollways. It was a shame that the necessity should arise. Frotn section nine Thorpe had hoped to lighten the expenses when finally he should begin operations on the distant and inaccessible headwaters of French v^reek. N> v there was no help for it. The instant necessity was to get thirty millions of pine logs down the n .cr before Wallace Carpenter's notes came due. K\cry otlur consideration had to yield before that. Fifteen mill- ions more could be cut on seventeen, nineteen, and eleven, — regions hitherto practically untouched, — hy the men in the four camps inland. Camp One and Camp Three could attend to section nine. These were details to wdiich Thorpe applied his mind. As he pushed through the sm decked forest. laying out his roads, placing his travuv trails, spying the difficulties that might supervene to mar the fair face of honest labor, he had always this thought before him, — that he must apply his mind. Wy an efifort, a tremendous elTort, he succeeded in doing so. li'e effort left him limp. He found himself often standint;. or moving gently, his e/cs staring sightless, his mind THE BLAZED TRAIL 267 cradle! on vap;ue misty clouds of absolute inaction, his will chained so softly and yet so firmly that he felt no strcn^nh and hardly the desire to break from the dream that lulled him. Then he was conscious of the physical warmth of the sun, the faint sweet woods smells, the sootliinj^: caress of the breeze, the sleepy cicada-like note of the pine creeper. Throup;h his lialf-closc(i lashes t!ie tan>;led sun-beams made soft- tinted raini^ows. He wanted nothing so much as t(J sit on the pine needles there in the golden flood of radiance, and dream — dream on — vap;ucly, comfort- ably, sweetly — dream of the summer Thorpe, with a mij^dity an(i ' ^-it efTort, snapped the silken cords asunder. "Lord, Lord!" he cried u.i,.>...cntly. "What's Cuming to me? I must be a little off my feed! " And he hurried rapidly lo his duties. After an hour of the hardest concentratiin he hai! ever been required to bestow on a trivial subjc -t, he again unconsciously sank i y de.i^Tees into the old apathy. " Giad it isn't the busy sea-on ! " he commented to himself. "Here, I must quit this! Guess it's the warm weather. I'll get down tu the mill for a day or two." There he found himself incapable of even the most p< ity routine work. He sat to his desk at eight u clock and began the perusal of a sheaf of letters, C(>mprising a certain correspondence, which Collins brought him. The fir-l three h^' read carefully; the followinq: two rather h irriedlv ; of the next one he seized only the salient ar.^l essential points ; the seventh and eighth he skimuicd; the remainder of the bundle he thrust aside in uncontrollable impatience. Next day he returned to the woods. The incident of the letters had aroused to the full his old fighting spirit, before which no mere in-tincts could stand. He clamped the iron to h;s actions and it k ,1 J: ll ir i MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1^ ill 21 13.2 1^ 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 ^ APPLIED IN/MGE Inc SST'- '653 East Main Street g"-S Rochester, Ne« York U609 USA -^ (7'6) «82 - 0300 - PCone ^S (^'6) 288 - 5989 - Fax 268 THE BLAZED TRAIL forced them to the way appointed. Once more hU mental processes became clear and incisive, his con - mands direct and to the point. To all outward appear- ance 1 horpe was as before. He opened Camp One, and the Fighting Forty came back from distant drinking joims. This was in early beptember vyhen the raspberries were entirely done and the blackberries fairly in the wa. of vanishinrr Iha able-bodied and devoted band 6f men was on hand when needed. Shearer, in some subtle manner of his own had let them feel that ihis year meant thirty million or bust. ' They tightened their leather bells and stood ready for commands. Thorpe set them to work near the river, cutting roads along the lines he had blazed to the inland timber on seventeen and nine- teen. After much discussion with bhearer the youne man decided to take out the logs from eleven by driv - mg them down French Creek. To this end a gang was put to clearing the creck- if\ A r,' ^^ *':^"^,^"?0"s job. Centuries of forest life had choked the little stream nearly to the level of Its banks. Old snags and stumps lay imbedded in the ooze ; decayed trunks, moss-grown, blocked the cur- rent ; leaning tamaracks, fallen timber, tangled vines dense thickets gave to its course more the appearance u A aI^^'u' J"".^'^ ^'^^^ °^ ^ "orth country brook- bed. All these things had to be removed, one by one and either piled to one side or burnt. In the end' however it xyould pay. French Creek was not a larije stream but it could be driven during the time of the spring freshets. Each night the men returned in the beautiful dream- hke twilight to the camp. There they sat, after eatincj. smoking their pipes in the open air. Much of the time they sang, vvhile Phil, crouching wolf-hke over his violin, rasped out an accompaniment of dissonance* Frotn a distance it softened and fined pleasantly into THE BLAZED TRAIL 269 the framework of the wilderness. The men's voices Tent themselves well to the weird miuur strains of tlie chanteys. These times — when the men san^ and the night-wm-l rose and died in the hemlock tops — were Thorpe s worst moments. His soul, tired with the day s iron struggle, fell to brooding. Strange thoughts carne to him, strange visions. He wanted something — he knew not what ; he longed, and thrilled, and aspired to a greater glory than that of brave deeds a softer comfort than his old foster mother, the wilder- ness, could bestow. The men vyere singing in a mighty chorus, swaving their heads in unison, and bringing out with a 'roar the emphatic words of the crude ditties written by some genius from their own ranks. " Come all ye sons of freedom throughout old Michigan, Come all ye gallant lumbermen, list to a shanty man. On the banks of the Muskegon, where the rapid waters flo^v, OH! — we'll range the wild woods o'er while a-lumberinst we go." * Here was the bold unabashed front of the pioneer here was absolute certainty in the superiority of his calling, — absolute scorn of all others. Thorpe passed his hand across his brow. The same spirit was once fully and freely his. " The music of our burnished ax shall make the woods resound, And many a lofty ancient pine will tumble to the ground At night around our shanty fire well sing while tude winds blow, OH!^ we'll range the wild woods o'er while a-lumberim we got" * . That vvas what he was here for. Thinrrs were goin? nght It would be pitiful to fail merety on account " ■ if . t;. i f 270 THE BLAZED TRAIL of this idiotic lassitude, this unmanly weakness, this boyish impatience and desire for play. He a woods- ma>i ! He a fellow with these big stronc; men I A single voice, clear and high, struck into a quick measure ; " / am a jolly shanty ioy, As you will soon di scorer ; To all the dodges I am Jly, A hustling pine-ivoods' rover. A peavey-hook it is my pride, An ax J 7vell can handle. To fell a tree or punch a bull Get rattling Vanny Randall" And then with a rattle and crash the whole Fightin? Forty shrieked out the chorus : " Bung yer eye ! bung yer eye ! " Active, alert, prepared for any emergency that migln arise; hearty, ready for everything, from punching bulls to felling trees — that was something like! Ihorpe despised himself. The song went on. " / love a girl in Saginaw, She lives with her mother. J defy all Michigan To find such another. She's tall and slim, her hair is red. Her face is plump and pretty. She's n/y daisy Sunday best- day girl And her front name stands for Kitty." And again as before the Fighting Forty howled truculently: 00 .; " Bung yer eye ! bung yer eye ! " The words were vulgar, the air a mere minor chant. Yet I horpe s mmd was stilled. His aroused subcon- "^^.^'y'.. ■■■. "„^:V!( ■'/!>■ I THE BLAZED TRAIL 271 ciousness had been engaged in reconstructing these nan entire as their songs voiced rudely the inner char actcristics of their beings. Now his sn n> L i" finger on hp. Their bra\erv pdd^ (^^f ca.ti I ''^' bravado, boastfylness,-air\h'ese he hrdd^eX"7off approvingly Here now was the idea of Ee M,? Somewhere for each of them was a " Kit?v " a " d.iw Sunday best-day girl " ; the eternal feminS- the softer ^Hle; the tenderness, beauty, glory of e^n ^Xrsh I " f/ca* her to a dance one night A JHossback gave the bidding^ iiilver Jack bossed the shebang JindBig Dan played the fiddle. J/'I'i^ ^«^ drank the livelong night With fights between the dancing, ^ Jtn Silver Jack cleaned out the ranch ■ nd 'sent the mossbacks prancing." qul^kt:t\l^,asrshotl"ffrh''"r"f -^"^T'' ^^ ^'^^ glcd faintly a . as lost ^ "'"^ ^""'^^ ™"- " Bung yer eye I bung yer eye t " inIlZVl^^i^T'\^'t^' '^^' °^ ^he woods fac Chapter XXXVIII i* i rHERE he stood ani looked silently, understanding:, not caring to inquire. Acr the way a white-throat was singing, cK beautiful, like the shadow of a dream. The girl st' listening. Her small fair head was inclined ever so little si ways and her finger was on her lips as though wished to still the very hush of night, to which impr sion the inclination r' her supple body lent its gra The moonlight shone full upon her countenance. A tie white face it was, with wide clear eyes and a scr tive, proud mouth that now half parted like a cliiK Her eyebrows arched from her straight nose in tlie ] culiarly graceful curve that falls just short of pride the one side and of power on the other, to fill the e; with a pathos of trust and innocence. The man wati ing could catch the poise of her iung white neck a the molten moon-fire from her tumbled hair, — i color of corn-silk, but finer. And yet these words mean nothing. A pai:il might have caught her charm, but he must need> a poet as well, — and a great poet, one capable grandeurs and subtleties. To the young man standing there rapt in the sp of vague desire, of awakened vision, she seemed nu like a fiower or a mist. He tried to find words formulate her to himself, but did not succeed. Aiwa it came back to the same idea — the flower and t mist. Like the petals of a flower most delicate w her questioning, upturned face; like the bend of 27a IM THE BLAZED TRAIL ently, not \ Acri!-s ng, clf.;r. girl st'Mi-i little si'lc- lough -!:e ;li impri;;- its grace. ice. A lit- id a scnsi- a chilli'-;. in tile pe- f pride on 11 the eyes an watch- neck and air, — the \ pa i -Iter need- be apable ot the spell Tied MH'st word'- to Always r and tiie icate was end of a fluwcr most rare the stalk of her graceful throit • lik. tlie poise ot a 1 Uw.r tn,..f i ■ . ^ ,"-'''"' inroat, like '--ultifiil.per'ec lodv h n^ '^'' '"^^"^^'^'^^ ^^ ''er I'.stc„i„g her fingers on her lips -'^^^'■''^^' ^'^^''-^"ST u-incLnv pane T ' e , ^ "^ " "^''^'"-'^ ^ '^'^^^ » ,-i • ^ ^'^^ " '^^ -something, too of the frn^t untk s evanescent spiritual quality h the see e nl ."a; s.e'„e? ca;w;;g: '"" '" ""'' ''=^^- ">" '"= voices ;;_o.an, „.„o„, ,:.„, i,ll^„-;;, 'j^^ [a-,^p,. ".fs'l Ho o"; ,r' '"■' 1'"= '""'' '"'■"'-■"'I' '"' knees, nor the .o^jasr:;^-^--^:;-''^--:-^^ . o. cl.d ,0 „p„ce .l,a. ,l,e «.fme-,l,r''oat l,ad l„" hed Is "^•ed s oT" T r!; '?? "'^'-'-■"- ■'^<™othi„g ,ad ^-^io":.s--S,e'fiy;^^^Sc:?i;i: (!■ [1 274 THE BLAZED TRAIL had accounted with himself. Another drop would overflow the cup. Ah, sweet God, the beauty of it, the beauty of it 1 That questing, childlike starry gaze, seeking so purely to the stars themselves! That flower face, those drooping, half parted lips! That inexpressible, un- seizable something they had meant! Thorpe searched humbly — eagerly — then with agony through his troubled spirit, and in its furthermost depths saw the mystery as beautifully remote as ever. It approached and swept over him and left him gasping passiim- racked. Ah, sweet God, the beauty of it ! the beauty of it! the vision! the dream! He trembled and sobbed with his desire to seize it, with his impotence to express it, with his failure even to appreciate it as his heart told him it should be ap- preciated. He dared not look. At length he turned and stum- bled bac'- through the moonlit forest crying on his old gods in vain. At the banks of the river he came to a halt. Ther- in the velvet pines the moonlight slept calmly, and the shadows rested quietly under the breezeless sky. Near at hand the river shouted as ever its cry of joy over the vitality of life, like a spirited bry before the face of inscrutable nature. All else was silence. Then from the waste boomed a strange, hollow note, rising. dying, rising again, instinct with the spirit of the wilds. It fell, and far away sounded a heavy but distant crash. The cry lifted again. It was the first bull moose call- ing across the wilderness to his mate. And then, faint but clear down the current of a chance breeze drifted the chorus of the Fighting Forty. " The forests so bro7vn at our stroke go dowrij And cities spring up where they fell ; While logs well run and work well dotu Js tht story Hie shanty bet^s klL" ^' IK' "'2 : THE BLAZED TRAIL 175 Thorpe turned from the river with a thrift forward ?iv v^nrc^ ^^ "^^^ "°^ "^ religious man. and in his MX >ears woods expenencc had never been to church :u p, • ?'''}■ "P °^'^'' ''''' ^"P^ «^ the pines tc u lure .he Pleiades KJittered faintly among the brighter stars. Thanks, God," said he briefiy. u; [1 i^jjj Chapter XXXIX l^OR several days this impression satisfied him #*f completely. He discovered. stran<;elv enough, M. that his restlessness had left him, that oiirc more he was al)le to give to his work his former ener^n- and mterest. It was as tliou<;h some power had raised Its finger and a storm had stilled, leaving calm, uu- riilfled skies. He did not attempt to analyze this ; he did not even make an effort to contemplate it. ilis critical facuiiv was stricken dumb and it asked no (pieslions o," liiiii At_a touch his entire liij had changed. Reality ur vision, he had caught a gliinp.se of something so en- tirely dilferoiit from anything his iinagiiiaticjn or ex- perience had ever suggested to him, that at first he could do tio more than permit passively its influences to adjust themselves to hi- being. Curiosity, speculation, longing,— all the more active emotions remained in abevance while outwardly, for ihrce days, Harry Thorpe occupied himself onlv'witii the needs of the iMghting i'orty at Camp One.' In the early morning he went out with the gang. While they chopped or heaved, he stood by serene. Little questions of expediency he solved. Dilemmas he discussed leisurely with Tim Shearer. Occasion- ally he lent a shoulder when the pcavcvs la. ked of pry- ing a stubborn Ljg from its bed. Not once did he dance at the nooning sun. His patience was quiet an.d sure. Wnen evening came he smoked placidly outside the office, listening to the conversation and laughter of the men, caressing one of the beagles, while 876 THE BLAZED TRAIL 277 the rest slumbered about his feet, watching dreamily the- ni-ht shadows and the bats. At about nine o'clock lie went to bed. and slept souni v. He was vagui-ly conscious of a f,-rcat peace within him. a great stillness ot the sf)int, a-auist which the metallic events of his cralt clicked sharply in vivid relief. It was the peace an.! stillness of a river before it leaps. Little by little the condition changed. The man felt vapiie stirrings of curiosity. He speculated aimlessly as to whether or not the glade, the moonlight, the girl IK' 1 been real or merely the figments ot imagination' Almost immediately the answer leaped at him from his heart. Since she was so certainly flesh and blood uiicnce did she come.' wliat was she doing there in tlu; wilderness? His mind pushed the query aside as unimportant rushing eagerly to tlu- essential point: When could he see her again? How find for the second time the vision b.^fore which his heart felt the nistant need of prostrating itself. His placidity had gone. Hiat mornintr he made some vague excuse to bhearer and set out blindly down the river. He did not know where he was goin ^^ any more than did the bull moose plunging through the trackless \Mi' trncss to his mate. Instinct, the instinct of all wnd natural creatures, led him. And so, without ttiunght, without clear intention even,— most would say by accident, — he saw h» :tain. U was near the pole trad "; which was le .ike a trail than a rail- lence. For when the snows are deep and snowshoes not the property of every man who cares to journey, th*- old- tashioned " pole trail " comes into use. It is merely a scries of horses built of tirrber across which thick INonvay logs are laid, about fojr feet from the ground, to lorm a continuous pathway. A man must be a tiglu-rope walker to stick to the pr .e trail when ice and snow have sheathed its logs. If he makes a mis- 278 THE BLAZED TRAIL step, he is precipitated ludicrously into feathery depths through which he must tlounder to the neare»t timber horse before he can remount. In sumaicr, a, has been said, it resembles nothinpj so much as a thick one-rail fence of considerable height, around whicli a friujEfe of light brush has grown. Thorpe reached the fringe of bushes, and was abuut to dodge under the fence, when he saw her. So lie stopped short, concealed by the leaves and the timLir horse. She stood on a knoll in the middle of a grove of monster pines. There was something of the cathedral in the spot. A hush dwelt in the dusk, the long col- umns lifted grandly to the Roman arches of the frond, faint murmurings stole here and there like whisperiii:j acolytes. The girl stood tall and straight among the tall, straight pines like a figure on an ancient tape.Mry. She was doing nothing — just standing there — biit the awe of the forest was in her wide, clear eyes. The great sweet feeling clutched the young man's throat again. But while the other, — the vision of ih? frost-work glade and the spirit-like figure of silence — , had been unreal and phantasmagoric, this was of the earth. He looked, and looked, and look' again. He saw the full pure curve of her cheek's contour, neither oval nor round, but like the outline of a certain kind of plum. He appreciated the half-pathetic downward droop of the corners of her mouth, — her red mouth in dazzling, bewitching contrast to the milk-whiteness of her skin. He caught the fineness of her no.se, straight as a Grecian's, bi . with some faint suggestion aboi.it the nostrils .hat ' ted at piquance. And the waving corn silk of her altogether charming and 'ui- ruly hair, th- superb column of her long neck on which he*- little head poised proudly like a flower, her sup- ple body, whose curves had the long undulating grace of the current ixa at swift river, her slender white hand THE BLAZED TRAIL 279 with the pointed fin^^ers-all the he lavv one after the other and Ins soul shorted vvitlnn liim at thf su-ht He wrestled with the itn-tions that choke him' •Ah, Uod ! Ah, c;.)d ! ' !„■ cried softly to himself lik.j one m pain. lie. ih. ,„.-ni ui iron frame, of iron nerve, hardened hy a hnn.lrcd cintrK'tncirs, tremhl.d in every muscle hefore a straij^dit, slender pirl, cla.' 1 „, J.rown standmf,' alone m the mid.lje of the ancient forest ' In a moment she sti-red sli^dulv, and turned. Drawmg herself to her full heijjht, slie extended her hands over her head palm ouf d. and, wiih an inde- scribably graceful gesture, hail mockingly bowed a ceremoninns adieu to the sukmn trees. Then with a imle laugh she n:ovcd away in the direction of the At once Thorpe proved a great need of seeing her again. In his present niofjd there was nothing of the aue-strickcn peace he had experienced after the nioon- ight adventure. lie wanted the sight of her as he ha. never wanted anything before, lie must have it and he looked about him liercelv as thougli to clial- K;nge any force in llea^•en or IlJll that would deprive I'un of It. Ills cyc^ desired to follow the soft white curve of her cheek, to dance with the light of her corn- Mik hair, to delight in the poetic movements of her tail, shni body, to trace the full outline of her chin to u under at the carmine of her lips, red as a blood-spot on the snow. 1 hese things must I.,- at once The i^trung man desired it. And finding it impossible, he raged inwardly and tore the tranriuillitics of his heart as on the shores of the distant Lake of Stars, the bull- moose trampled down the bushes in his passion bo It happened that he ate hardly at all that day. and «.ept 111, and discovered the greatest dif?icultv in pre- scning the outward semblance of ease which the pres- ence of Tim Shearer and the Fighting Forty . ■ i ■, k tAM 284 THE BLAZED TRAIL :.-^i3 " I see," cried Thorpe, enlightened. "But I'm sorry I didn't know. Tm sorry you didn't let nu- know. I suppose you thought I was still at the null. How did you get along? Is Wallace with you ? " " No," she replied, dropping her hands and straight- ening her erect tigure. " it's horrid, he was coming, and then some business came up and he couldn't get away. We are having the loveliest time though, i do adore the woods. Come," she cried impati^-ntly, sweeping aside to leave a way clear, " you shall mcot my friends." Thorpe imagined she referred to the rest of the tent- ing partv. He hesitated. " I am hardly in fit condition," he objected. She laughed, Darting her red lips. " You arc ex- tremely picturit:,que just as you are," she said wiih rather embarrassing directness. " I wouldn't have yuu any dififerent for the world. But my friends dun't mind. They are used to it." She laughed again. Thorpe crossed the pole trail, and for the first time found himself by her side. The warm summer odors were in the air, a dozen lively little birds sang in the brush along the rail, the sunlight danced and tlickcrcd through the openings. Then suddenly they were among the pines, and tlie air was cool, the vista dim, and the bird songs incon- ceivably far away. The girl walked directly to the foot of a pine three feet through, and soaring up an inconceivable distance through the still twilight. " This is Jimmy," said she gravely. " He is a dear good old rough bear when you don't know him, but he likes me. If you put your ear close against him," she confided, suiting the action to the word, " you can hear him talking to himself. This little fellow is Tommy. I don't care so much for Tommy because he's sticky. Still, I hke him pretty well, and here's THE BLAZED TRAIL 285 Dick, and that's Bob, and the one just beyond is Jack." " Where is Harry ? " asked Thorpe. " I thought one in a woods was quite sufficient," she rcphcd with the least httlc air of impertinence. " Why do you name them such common, everyday names? " he inquired. " I'll tell you. It's because they are so bijj and grand themselves, that it did not seem to me they need- ed high-sounding names. What do you think? " she begged with an appearance of the utmost anxiety. Thorpe expressed himself as in agreement. As the half-quizzical conversation progressed, he found their relations adjusting themselves with increasing rapid- ity. He had been successively the mvstic devotee be- fore his vision, the worshipper before his goddess; now he was unconsciously assuming the attitude of the lover before his mistr ^s. It needs always this humanizing touch to render the greatest of all pas- sions livable. And as the human element developed, he proved at the same time greater and greater difficulty in repress- nig himself and greater and greater fear of the results m case he should not do so. He trembled with the dcMre to touch her long slender hand, and as soon as his imagination had permitted him that much he had already crushed her to him and had kissed passionately her starry face. Words hovered on his lins longing for llight. He withheld them by an effort "tliat left him almost incoherent, for he feared with a deadlv fear lest he lose forever what the vision had seemed to offer to his hand. So he said little, and that lamelv, for he dreaded to say too much. To her playful sallies he had no riposte. And in consequence he fell more silent with another bodmg — that he was losing his cause outright for lack Gi a ready word. » ! ; 8, u if. I f?^ I > fcJi m I 286 THE BLAZED TRAIL He need not have been alarmed. A woman m a case hits as surely as a man misses. Ilcr very tiness and preciosity of speech indicated it. where a man becomes stupid and silent, a w^ covers her emotions with words and a clever sp Not in vain is a proud-spirited girl stared down in a contest of looks ; brave deeds simply told by a I are potent to win interest in advance ; a straight, cular figure, a brown skin, a clear, direct eye, i riage of power and acknowledged auinortty, hard at a young imagination ; a mighty passion s aside the barriers of the heart. Such a victory, J friend, such a passion had Thorpe. And so the last spoken exchange between mean: nothing; but if each could have read the i words that quivered on the others heart, 1 would l^ave returned to the Fighting Forty more quilly, while she would probably not have retur ?he camping party at all for a number of hours " I do not think you had better come with m( said " Make vour call and be forgiven on yoi account. I don't want to drag you in at my < ^ ''^Ali right. I'll come this afternoon," Thor replied. , , . ^ " I love her I must have her. I must % once," his soi' had cried, 'quick — now — b kiss her! ' . . , i ic " How strong he is," she said to herself, brave-looking ; how honest ! He is different fi other men. He is magnificent. i man in such T very (lain- ;d it. For t, a \vcai:'.!i ever speech, lown in such d by a fricii'l might, nut?- t eye, a car- ority, strike ssion sweci'-^ ctory, such d etween them ad the unsaiil cart, Thorpe ty more tran- ■e returned to ■ hours, vith me," she on your own at my charioi " Thorpe had must go — at (W — before I herself, " how erent from tlie Chapter XLI rHAT afternoon Thorpe met the other mem- bers of the party, ofifercd his apologies and ex- planations, and was graciouslv forgiven. He fou jjjet him to sing for us, Mr. Thorpe." Thorpe went to tlie men's camp, where he singled out the unfortunate Unnl)er-jack in question. " Come on, Archie," he said. " The ladies want to hear you sing." , , , , , 1 r n The man objected, refused, pleaded, and tmally obeyed what amounted to a command. Thorpe re- entered the office with triumph, his victim in tow. ^ "This is Archie Harris," he announced hcartuy. " He's our best singer just now. Take a chair. Archie." The man perched on the edge of the chair and looked straight out before him. " Do sing for us, won't you, Mr. Harris ? requested Mrs. Carv in her sweetest tones. The ma' said nothing, nor moved a muscle, bat turned a brick-red. An embarrassed silence of expec- tation ensued. " Hit her up, Archie," encouraged Thorpe. " I ain't much in practice no how," objected the man in a little voice, without moving. _ ^^ " I'm sure you'll find us very appreciative, saul Elizabeth Carpenter. " Give us a song, Archie, let her go, urged Thorpe impatiently. " All right," replied the man very meekly. Another silence fell. It got to be a little awful. The poor woodsman, pilloried before the regards of this poUte circle, out of his clement, suffering cruelly, nevertheless made no sign nor movement one way or the other. At last when the situation had almost reached the breaking point of hysteiia, he began. THE BLAZED TRAIL 291 His voice ordinarily was rather a pood tenor. Now he pitched it too high ; and went on straining at the hij;h notes to the very end. Instead of offering; one of the typical woods chanteys, he concei ' that before so gran(l an aiuhonce he should give something; f.iiu-y. He therefore struck into a sentimental song of tlic cheap music-hall type. There were nine verses, and he drawled through them all, hanging whiningly on the nasal notes in the fashion of the untraint.d singer. Instead of being a performance ty])ical of the strange woods genius, it was merely an atrocious bit of cheap sentimcntalisni, badly rendered. The audience listened politely. When the song was finished it mur .lured faint thanks. " Oh, give us ' Jack Ilaggerty,' Archie," urged Thorpe. But the wood<^nian rose, nodded his head awkward- ly, and made Iii;, escape. He entered the men's camp swearing, and for the remainder of the day made none but blasphemous remarks. The beagles, however, were a complete success. They tumbled about, and lolled their tongues, and hiighed up out of a tangle of themselves in a fascinat- ing manner. Altogether the visit to Camp One was a success, the more so in that on the way back, for tlic first time, Thorpe found that chance — and Mrs. Gary — had allotted Hilda to his care. A hundred yards down the trail they encountered Phil. The dwarf stopped short, looked' attentively at tile girl, and then softly approached. When (juile near to her he again stopped, gazing at her with his soul in his liquid eyes. " You are more beautiful than the sea at night,"' he said directly. The others laughed. " There's sincerity for you, Miss Hilda," said young Mr. Morton. " Who is he ? " asked the girl after they had moved Ga. IIP In 292 THE BLAZED TRAIL " Our chore-boy," answered Thorpe with i5:rcat brevity, for he was thinking of something much mure important. After the rest of the party had gone ahead, leavinjj them sauntering more slowly down the trail, he gave it voice. " \^ hy don't you come to the pine grove any more.'' " he asked bluntly. " Why? " countered Hilda in the manner of women. " I want to see you there. I want to talk with yuu. I can't talk with all that crowd around." *' I'll ccme to-morrow." she said — then with a little mischievous laugh, " if that'll make you talk." " You must think I'm awfully stupid,'' agreed Thorpe bitterly. "Ah, no! Ah, no!" she protested softly. "You must not say that." She was looking at him very tenderly, if he had only known it, but he did not, for his face was set in discoti- tented lines straight before him. " It is true," he replied. They walked on in silence, while gradually the dan- gerous fascination of the woods crept down on them. just before sunset a hush falls on nature. The witid has i!ied, the birds have not yet begun their evening songs, the light itself seems to have left off sparklin-,' and to lie still across the landscape. Such a lui^h now lay on their spirits. Over the way a creeper wa-- droning sleepily a little chant, — the only voice in the wilderness. In the heart of the man, too, a little voice raised itself alone. "Sweetheart, sweetheart, sweetheart !" it breathed over and over again. After a while he said it gently in a half voice. " No, no, hush ! " said the girl, and she laid the soft, warm fingers of one hand acrn,,s i.is lips, and looked at him from a height of superior soft-eyed tenderness :i THE BLAZED TRAIL 293 as a woman might look at a child. " You must not. It is not right." Then he kissed the fingers very j^ently before they were withdrawn, and sh' said nothing at all in .^bukc, but looked straight before her with troubled eyes. The voices of evening began to ra .e their jubilant notes. I'rom a tree nearby the olive thrush sang like clockwork ; over beyond carolled eagerly a black- tlirdat, a myrtle warbler, a dozen song sparrows, and a hundred vireos and creepers. Down deep in the blackness of the ancient woods a hermit thrush uttered his solemn bell note, like the tolling of the spirit of peace. And in Thorpe's heart a thousand tumultuous voices that harl suddenly roused to clamor, died into nothmgneia at the music of her softly protesting voice. 11 ? f IS . It- Chapter XLII f rHORPE returned to Camp One shortly after dark. He found there Scotty Parsons, wlio had come up to take charge of the crew imi- gaged in clearing French Creek. The man brou.L;ht him a number of letters sent on by Collins, among which was one from Wallace Carpenter. After commending the camping party to his coni- panion's care, and giving minute directions as to how and where to meet it, the young fellow went on to say that affairs were going badly on the Board. " Some interest that I haven't been able to make or.t yet has been hammering our stocks down day aitcr day," he wrote. " I don't understand it, for the stocks are good — they rest on a solid foundation of value — and intrinsically arc worth more than is bid for th.w right now. Some powerful concern is beating them down for a purpose of its own. Sooner or later tiny will let up, and then we'll get things back in good shape. I am amply protected now, thanks to you, and am not at all afraid of losing my holdings. The only difficulty is that 1 am unable to predict exactly wlun the other fellows will decide that they have accom- plished whatever they are about, and let up. It may not be before next year. In that case I couldn't !u !|) you out on those notes when they come due. So init in your best licks, old man. You may have to pony up for a little while, though of course sooner or later 1 can put it all back. Then, you bet your life, I kci;;' out of it. Lumbering's good enough for yours truly. " By the way, you might shine up to Hilda Farrand 294 \U ' THE BLAZED I RAIL 295 and join the rest of the fortune-hunters. She's got it to throw to the birds, and in her own right. Seriously old fdlow, don't put yourself into a false po^itiori through Ignorance. Not that there is any danger to a hardened old woodsman like you." 'Ihorpe wciu to the group of pines bv the pole trail the fullowmg afternoon because he had'said he would but with a new attitude of mind. Ik- had come into contact wuh the artificiality of convcniional relations and 11 stiifened him. No wonder she had made him' keep silence the afternoon before ! She had done it gently and nicely, to be sure, but that was part of her gnud-brecfhng. Hilda found him formal, reserved puhic; and marvelled at it. In her was no coquetry' bile was as straightforward and sincere as the look of iier eyes. They sat down on a log. Hilda turned to him with her graceful air of confidence. " Xcjw talk to me," said she. " Certainly," replied Thorpe in z practical tone of voice, what do you want me to talk about ' " She shot a swift, troubled glance at him. c'onciuded hersoll mistaken, and said : " Tell me about what you do up here — vour life — all about it." "Well—" replied Thorpe formally, "we haven't much to interests girl like you. It is a question of ^^aw io-s with us — and he went on in his drvcq nio^t Uchn.cal manner to detail the process of manufacture. It might as well have been bricks. Ihe girl did not understand. She was hurt As purely as the sun tangled in the distant pine frond, she had seen ,n his eyes a great passion. Now it was toklly withdrawn. '' What has happened to you .' " she asked finally out ot iier great sincerity. " -^le t Nothing," replied Thoroe. 'J . \ > H- H ,^jjj 296 THE BLAZED TRAIL A forced silence fell upon him. Hilda seemed grad ually to lose herself in reverie. After a tmie she sa... softly. , . , - „ " Don't vou love this woods .-* " It's an' excellent bunch of pine, replied ilm bluntlv. •' It'll cut three million at least." " Oh! " she cried drawing back, her hands prc.^ aeainst the lo- either side of her, her eyes wide After a moment she caught her breath convulf.ucy and Thorpe became conscious that she was stu.lym,^ him furtively with a quickening doubt. After that, by the mercy of God, there was no more taik between them, -he was too hun and shocKcd and disillusioned to make the necessary effort to so away. He was too proud to put an end to the posi- tion Thev sat there apparently absorbed in thou-,n, while all about them the accustomed life of the woods drew nearer and nearer to them, as the splash of llieir entrance into it died away. , . , , , A red squirrel poised thirty feet above them, eaped, and clung swaying to a sapling-top a dozen yards truir. the tree he had quitted. Two chickadees upside dov.n uttcrino- liquid undertones, searched busdy for inscci= next their heads. Wilson's warblers, pine creeper? black-throats, myrtle and magnolia warblers, over birds, peewits, blue jays, purple finches, passed silenu) or noisily, each according to his kind. Once a lom spruce hen dusted herself in a stray patch of sunngH until it shimmered on a tree trunk, raised upward an> disappeared, to give place to long level dusty sliaU that sh here and there through the pmes laying ux spell 01 sunset on the noisy woods brawlers. Unconsciouslv the first strain of opposition Dnd c hurt surprise had relaxed. Each thought vaguelv In thoughts Then in the depths of the forest, pcraap near tat hand, perhaps far away, a single hermit thri> began to sing. His song was of three solemn U.e ''i THE BLAZED TRAIL 297 liquid notes ; followed by a slight rhetorical pause as of contemplation ; and then, deliberately, three notes more on a different key — and so on witliout haste and without pause. It is the most dignified, the most spir- itual, the holiest of woods utterances. Combined uiih the evening shadows and the warm soft air, it offered to tl^c heart an almost irresistible appeal. The man's artificial antagonism modified ; the woman's disen- chantment began to seem unreal. Then subtly over and through the bird-song another sound became audible. At first it merely repeated the three notes faintly, like an echo, but with a rich, sad undertone t' • t brought tears. Then, timidly and still softly, it elaborated the theme, weaving in and out 'hrough the original three the glitter and shimmer of splendid web of sound, spreading before the awak- ened imagination a broad river of woods-imagery that reflected on its surface all the subtler moods of the forest. The pine shadows, the calls of the wild creat- ures, the flow of the brook, the splashes of sunlight tlirough the trees, the sigh of the wind, the shout of the rapid, — all these were there, distinctly to be felt in their most ethereal and beautiful forms. And yet it was all slight and tenuous as though the crack of a twig would break it through — so that over it contin- ually like a grand full organ-tone repeated the notes of the bird itself. V\ ith the first sigh of the wonder-music the girl had started and caught her breath in the exquisite pleasure of it. As it went on they both forgot everything but the harmony and each other. " Ah, beautiful ! " she murmured. " What is it? " he whispered marvelling. " A violin, — played by a master." The bird suddenly hushed, and at once the strain abandoned the woods-note and took another motif. At first it played softly in the higher notes, a tinkling, H ^ 298 THE BLAZED TRAIL 1SV4 •'^•■^ , lio-htsome little melody that stirred a kindly siiria:c- smile over a full heart. Then suddenly, without tran- sition, it dropped to the lower register id bci^an .. sob and wail in the full vibrating po\ r of a pre;.! passion. And the theme it treated was love. It spoke so, emnly, fearfully of the greatness of it, the t,'l.v.v These as abstractions it amplified in fine full-brcat'.ui chords that swept the spirit up a.\d up as on the waves of a mighty organ. Then one by one tlie vuiccs i,: other things were heard,— the tinkling of laughter. ;;c roar of a city, the sob of a grief, a cry of pain sucMinly shooting across the sound, the clank of a machuic, t.ie tumult of a river, the puf¥ of a steamboat, the murnir.r- ing of a vast crowd, — and one by one, without scur.- ing in the least to change their character, they mcr^f 1 imperceptibly into, ar.d were part of the gra:.d- breathed chords, so that at last all the fames and ambi- tions and passions of the world came, in their ap; tli- eosis, to be only Darts of the master-passion of liuni all- And while the echoes of the greater glory still sv.pt beneath their uplifted souls like ebbing waves, so tlia: they still sat rigid and staring with the majesty oi 1 , the'violin softly began to whisper. Beautiful it was a^ a spirit, beautiful beyond words, beautiful be} jr.i thought. Its beauty struck sharp at the heart. And they two sat there hand in hand dreaming — dreaming — dreaming , At last the poignant ecstasy seemed slowly, slow.y to die. Fainter and fainter ebbed the music. Through it as through a mist the solemn aloof forest began to show to the consciousness of the two. They sou,t;ht each other's eyes gently smiling. The music was very soft and dim and sad. They leaned to each other wim a sob. Their lips met. The music ceased. Alone in the forest side by side they looked out to- THE BLAZED TRAIL 299 pether for a moment into that eternal vision which lovers only are permitted to see. The shadows fell. About them brooded the inscrutable pines stretching a canopy over them enthroned. A sinf::lo last shaft oi the sun struck full upon them, a sins:le light-spot in the gathering gloom. They were beautiful. And over behind the trees, out of the light and the love and the beauty, little Phil huddled, his great shaggy head bowed in his arms. Beside him lay his vioHn, and beside that his bow, broken. He had snapped it across his knee. That day he had heard at last the Heart Song of the \'iolin, and uttering it, had bestowed love. But in accordance with his proph- ecy he had that day lost what he cared for most in all the world, his friend. Ik I \l Chapter XLIII rHAT was the moon of delight. The days pab ed through the hazy forest Hke stately fi;;- ures from an old masque. In the pine grove on the knoll the man and the woman had erected a temple to love, and love showed them one to the otlur. In Hilda Farrand was no guile, no coquetry, no de- ceit. So perfect was her naturalism that often by iho^e who knew her least she was considered afifected. IKr trust in whomever she found herself with attained so directly its reward ; her unconsciousness of pose was so rhythmically graceful; her ignorance and innocence so triumphantly efifective, that the mind with difficulty rid itself of the belief that it was all carefully studied. This was not true. She honestly did not know I'uat she was beautiful ; was unaware of her grace ; did not realize . ;e potency of her wealth. This absolute lack of self-consciousness was most potent in overcoming Thorpe's natural reticence. He expanded to her. She came to idolize him in a man- ner at once inspiring and touching in so beautiful a creature. In him she saw reflected all the lofty at- tractions of character which she icrself possessed, hut of which she was entirely unaware. Through his words she saw to an ideal. His most trivial actions were ascribed to motives of a dignity which would have been ridiculous, if it had not been a little pathetic, The woods-Hfe, the striving of the pioneer kindled her imagination. She seized upon the great facts of them and fatted those facts with reasons of her own. Her insight perceived the adventurous spirit, the battle- 3D0 THE BLAZED TRAIL 301 coura<:::e, the indomitable steadfastness which ahvays in reality lie back of these men of the front i^r to ur,i;e them into the life ; and of them constructed conscious motives of conduct. To her fancy the lumbermen, of uliom Tliorf)e was one, were seli-consciuus agents of advance. They chose hardship, loneliness, the stren- uous life because they wished to clear the way for a hif,dier civilization. To her it seemed a great and noble sacrifice. She did not pc-ceivc that while all this is true, it is under the surface, the real spur is a dL-ire to get on, and a hope of making moiiey. For, strangely enough, she differentiated sharply the life and the reasons for it. An existence in subduing the forest was to her ideal ; the making of a fortime through a lumbering firm she did not consider in the least important. Th.at this distinction was most po- tent, the sequel will show. In all of it she was absolutely sincere, and not at all stupid. She had always had all she could spend, with- out question. Money meant nothing to her, one way or the other. If need was, she might have experi- enced some difficulty in learning how to economize, but none at all in adjusting herself to the necessity of it. The material had become, in all sincerity, a basis for the spiritual. She recognized but two sorts of mo- tives ; of wliich the ideal, comprising the poetic, the daring, the beautiful, were good ; and the material, meaning the sordid and selfish, were bad. With her the mere money-getting would have to be allied with some great and poetic excuse. Tliat is the only soi \ ;f aristocracy, in the popular sense of the v*ord, which is real ; the only scorn of money which can be respected. Ihere are some faces which symbolize to the be- holder many subtleties of soul-beauty which by no other method could gain expression. Those subtle- ties may not, probably do not, exist in the possessor ii: . i- ' M iS- 302 THE BLAZED TRAIL of the face. The power of such a countenance lies not so much in what it actually represents, as in th'j sugj?estion it holds out to another. So often it is w:;!; a beautiful character. Analyze it carefully, and y..u will reduce it generally to absolute simplicity and ab- solute purity — two elements common enough in ad\;i- teralit)n ; but place it face to face with a more comi>U x persunalitv, and mirror-like it will tak< on a huudn i delicate shades of ethical beauty, while at the same time preserving its own lofty spirituality. Thus Hilda Farrand reflected Thorpe. In the ckar mirror of her heart his image rested transfigured, ll was as though the glass were magic, so that the gr.'- and material was absorbed and lo.st, while the m .n spiritual qualities retlected back. So the image wa> retained in its entirety, but ethercalized. refined, ll is necessary to attempt, even thus faintly and inade- quately, a sketch of Hilda's love, for a partial under- standing of it is necessary to the comprehension ot what followed the moon of delight. That moon saw a variety of changes. The bed of French Creek was cleared. roads were finished, and the last begun, the work of it. Morton and Gary shot four deer between them, which was unpardonably against the law, caught ti.-h in plenty, smoked two and a half pounds of tobacco, and read half of one novel. Mrs. Cary and Miss Car- penter walked a total of over a hundred miles, buui;'-.t twelve pounds of Indian work of all sorts, cmbroiderv-! the circle of two embroidery frames, learned to padJk' a birch-bark canoe, picked hftcen quarts of berries, ar.J gained six pounds in weight. All the party together accomplished five picnics, four explorations, and ihiru excellent campfires in the evening. So much for t'lc fun nf it. Little Phil disappeared utterly, taking with him his Three of the So much for •4 THE BLAZED lilAIL 3^3 violin, but leaving his !)r()kcn bow. Tliorpe has it even to tliis (lay. The iunihernian caused siareh and inquiry on all sides. The ciipple was never heard of aJ,^'lin. lie had lived his briLt hour, taken his subtle artist's venj^eance of niisplayed notes on the crude ap- preciation of men too coarse-filjcred to recognize it, brought together by the might of sacrifice and con- summate genius two hearts on the brink of misunder- standing; — now there was no further lued for him, he had gone. So much for the tragedy of it. "I saw you long ago," said Hilda to Thorpe. " Long, long ago, wlien 1 was (piite a young girl. I had been visiting in Detroit, and was on my way all alone to catch an early train. You stood on the cor- ner thinking, tall and straight atul bfnvn, with a v.eatherbcaten old hat and a weatherbeattn old coat and weatherbeaten old moccasins, and such a proud, clear, undaunted look on your face. I liave remem- bered you ever since." And then he told her of the race to the Land Office, while her eyes grew brighter and brighter with the epic splendor of the story. She told him that she had loved him from that moment — and believed her tell- ing; while he, the unsentimental leader of men, per- suaded himself and her that he had always in some mysterious manner carried her image prophetically in his heart. So much for the love of it. In the last days of the month of delight Thorpe re- ceived a second letter from his partner, which to some f^-xtent awakened him to the realities. ■' IMy dear Harry," it ran. " I have made a startling discovery. The other fellow is Morrison. I have been a blind, stupid dolt, and am caught nicely. You can't call me any more names than I have already called myself. Morrison has been in it from the start. By .^n .iccid.ptit T learned he was bcliind th.c fellow •■■ ho induced me to invest, and it is he who has been ham- ^t^ 304 THE BLAZED TRAIL 9l mering the stock down ever since. They couldn't lick you at your game, so they tackled nic at mine. I'm not the man you are, Harry, and I've made a mess of it. Of course their scheme is plain enough on tlic face of it. They're going to involve me so deeply that I will drag the firm down with me. " If you can fix it to meet those notes, they can't do it. I have ample margin to cover any more iK- clines they may be able to bring about. Don't fr. i about that. Just as sure as you can pay that sixty thousand, just so sure we'll be ahead of the game at this time next vear. For God's sake get a move on you, old man. If you don't — good Lord ! The firm'li bust because she can't pay; I'll bust because I'll have to let mv stock go on margins — it'll be an awful smash. But you'll get there, so we needn't worry. I've been an awful fool, and I've no right to do the getting into trouble and leave you to the hard work of getting' out again. But as partner I'm going to insist on your having a salary — etc." ^ . The news aroused all Thorpe's martial spirit, ^ow at last the mystery surrounding Morrison & Daly's unnatural complaisance was riven. It had conic to grapples again. He was glad of it. Meet those notes ? Well I guess so! He'd show them what sort of a proposition they had tackled. Sneaking, underhaii'Inl scoundr.^ls! taking advantage of a mere boy. Mc t those notes ? You bet he would ; and then he'd go down there and boost those stocks until M. & D- looked hke a last year's bird's nest. He thrust the letter in his pocket and walked buoyantly to the pmes. The two lovers sat there all the afternoon drinkinc; in half sadly the joy of the forest and of being near each other, for the moon of delight was almost dune. In a week the camping party would be breakin- np. and Hilda must return to the city. It was uncertain when they would be able to sec each other .^gam. .. .-'.^ •v;jtci^^ryy THE BLAZED TRAIL 305 though there was talk of getting,' up a winter party to viMt Camp One in January. Ihc atiair wuuld be uiii(|Uo. Suddenly the girl broke off and put lici tnigors to Ikt lips. For some time, dimly, an intermittint and faint sound had been felt, ratlier than actually heard, like the irregular muflled beating of a heart. Gradu- ally it had insisted on the attuitiun. Now at last it broke through the film of consciousness. " What is it ? " she asKed. Thorpe listened. Then his face ht mightilv witlj the joy of battle. " My axmen," he cried. " They are cutting the road." ^^ A faint call echoed. Then without warning, nearer at hand the sharp ring of an ax sounded through the forest rffc'^ifcfc: nil X^^^M^m^i^ mj^^-^: THE BLAZED TRAIL r Part V T.ie Following cf the Trail r r r h \ I 1 Cuipter XLIV jr~10R a mom<...t .b:; sac listeninq^ to the clear rj staccato knocking- of the distant blows, and the X more forceful thuds of the man nearer at hand. A bird or so darted from the direction of the sound and shot silently into the thicket behind them. "What are they doing? Are thcv cutting lum- ber?" asked Hilda. " No," answered Thorpe, " we do not cut saw logs at this time of year. Tii y arc clearing out a road." " \\ here does it go to ? " " Well, nowhere in particular. That is, it is a log- ging road that -tarts at the river and wanders up through the woods where the pine is." " How clear the axes sound. Can't we go down and watch them a little while?" " The main gang is a long distance away ; sound carries very clearly in this still air. As for that fellow you hear so plainly, he is only clearing out small stuff to get ready for the others. You wouldn't see any- thing different from your Indian chopping the cord- wood for your camp fire. He won't chop out any big trees." " Let's not go, then," said Hilda submissively. " \\ hen you come up in the winter," he pursued, " you will see any amount of big timber felled." " I would like to know more about it," she sighed, a quaint little air of childish petulance gravin, two lines between her eyebrows. " Do you know, Harry, you are a singularly uncommunicative sort of being. I have to guess that your life is interesting and pic- 309 \r I II 310 THE BLAZED TRAIL turesque, — that is," she amended, " I should have to do so' if Wallace Carpenter had not told me a httl- something about it. Sometimes I think you are ni^t nearly poet enough for the life you are living. Why. you are wonderful, you men of the north, and you kt us ordinary mortals who have not the gift of divina- tion imagine you entirely occupied with how ma- pounds of iron chain you are gomg to need during tho winter." She said these things lightly as one who speaks things not for serious belief. " It is something that way," he agreed with a laugh. " Do you know, sir," she persisted, " that 1 really don't know anything at ell about the life you lead herc- From what I -e seen, you might be perpetually oc- cupied in eatiuj, things in a log cabin, and in disappear- ing to perform some mysterious rites in the fore>t," She looked at him with n smiling mouth but tender eyes, her head tilted back slightly. " It's a good deal that way, too," he agreed again. " We use a barrel of fiour in Camp One every two ami a half days ! " She shook her head in a faint negation that only half understood what i.c was saying, her whole hcun in her tender gaze. " Sit there," she breathed very softly, pointing to tlu- dried needles on which her feet rested, but witlmut altering the position of her head or the steadfastness of her look. He obeyed. "Now tell me," she breathed, still in the fascinated monotone. " What? " he inquired. " Your life ; what you do ; all about it. You must tell me a story." Thorpe settled himself more lazily, and laughed with quiet enjoyment. Never had he felt the expansion of a similar mood. The barrier between himself and belt- THE BLAZED TRAIL 3,, expression had . ,lcd. leaving not the smallest dcbns of the old stubborn fcclinf^. " The story of the woods," he bc-an. '• the story of tdl It. I doubt It any one man ever would be bi- enough. It IS a drama, a struggle, a battle. Those men you hear there are only the skirmishers exiend- :' ''■ . ■' ^" ''"7>' ""^^- to get those roads done and a certain creek cleared before the snow. Then we 11 have to keq on the keen move to finish our cut- ting before the deep snow; to haul our logs before the spring thaws ; to float them down the river while the frcshe water lasts. Wl,en we gain a dav we have -H-ored a victory; when the wilderness puts us back an hour, we have suffered a defeat. Ou; amnuinhion IS lime our small shot the minutes, our heavy ord- nance tlie hours ! The girl placed her hand on his shoulder. He cov- ered It with his own. '■ Hut we win ! " he cried. " We win ' " .nir;!Il?^/' •''"!^-^ like." she said softly, '•- the strong ; n that wins ! Si- ^c^ilated, then went on gently 1 1 c It w 'if ''^'"'' ' ' ^^ "'^- ''^^y -^^ ^'-^^'"1- ov .r n, . f^^ -"^'^^ , r^onnu^, before you came d n :r 1 • ^'^^„^^^l'"'Ps of trees, the dead branches, ruhaig! Harry, there was not a single bird in all >a V, ,ste. a single green thing. You don't know h..w t ahectcd me so early in the morning. I saw just one loncsu.ne pine tree that had been left for some reason or another, standing there hke a sentinel. I could J-..1!. my eyes and see all the others standing, and al- no>t hear the birds singing and the wind in the brandies, just as it is here." She seized his fingers in her other hand. " Harry." she said earnestly, " i S" n 3^2 THE BLAZED TRAIL believe I can ever for.G:ct that experience, any mc^j than I could have forgotten a battlefield, were I to set one I can shut my eves now, and can sec this p.ace our'aear little wooded Unoll wasted and blackene(. v. that was."' i .i i The man twisted hi. shoulder uneasily and wit.;urcv his hand. " Harry," she said again, after a pause, you -nib promise to leave this woods until the very last. suppose it must aii be cut down some day, but 1 do nc Want to be here to see after it is all over. Thorpe remained silent. " Men do not care much for keepsakes, do tiu) Harrv^ — they don't save letters and tlowcrs as v. girls do — but even a man can feel the value c f a frro: beautiful keepsake such as this, can t he, dear.- Oi meeting-place -do you remember how I four, yo down there by the old pole trail, staring as though y^ had seen a ghost? -and that beautitul bcauun music ' It . -ust alwavs be our most sacred mciiiur; Promise n- . you will save it until the very, \ci last " Thorpe said nothing because he could not rally h faculties. The sentimental association conne- ted ur the grove had actually never occurred to Imn. 11 keepsakes were impressions which he carefully -uar ed in his memory. To the natural masculine imh U ence toward material bits of sentiment he had add, the instinct of the strictly portable early developed the rover. He had never even possessed a photogra, of his sister. Now this sudden discovery that su- things might be part of the woof of another pcr.oi spiritual garment came to him ready-grown to t proportions of a problem. , In selecting the districts for the season s cut, he . included in his estimates this very grove, bmce tu he had seen no reabuii for changing his decisior T ^■.£- THE BLAZED TRAIL 3'3 operations would not commence imtil winter. By that time the lovers would no loivj^er care to use it as at present. Now rapidly he passed in review a dozen expedients by which his plan ini.c^ht be niodiiiod tu permit of the grove's exclusii)n. Ills i)raciical mi. id discovered flaws in every one. Other bodies of timber promising a return of ten thousand dollars were not to be found near the river, and time now lacked for the cutting of roads to more distant forties. " Hilda," he broke in abruptly at last, " tlie men you hear are clearing a road to this' very timber." " What do you mean ? " she asked. " This timber is marked for cutting this very win- ter." ^ She had not a suspicion of the true state of afTairs. " Isn't it lucky I spoke of it ! " she exclaimed. " How could you have forgotten to countermand the order! Vou must see to it to-day ; now 1 " She sprang up impidsively and stood waitin;; for him. He arose more slowly. Even before he spoke !i(T eyes dilated with the shock from her quick intui- tions. " Hilda, I cannot," 1k' said. She stood very still for some seconds. " Why not? " she asked quietly. " Because I have not time to cut a road through to another bunch of pine. It is this or nothing.'' " W by not nothing, then ? " " I want the money this will bring." His choice of a verb was unfortunate. The employ- men; of that one little word opened the girl's mind to a Hood of old suspicions which the frank charm of the northland had thrust outside. Hilda Farrand was an heiress and a beautiful girl. She had been constantly reminded of the one fact by the attempts of men to use riatiery of the other as a key to her heart and her fort- une. From early girlhood she had been sought by the ii: 3H THE BLAZED TRAIL brilliant impecunious of two continents. The con- tinued experience had varnished her self-esteem witli a glaze of cynicism sufficiently consistent to protect it against any but the strongest attack. She believ.u in no man's protestations. She distrusted every m:iii'.-< motives as far as herself was coticerned. This attitu le of mind was not unbecoming in her for the siiiijile reason that it destroyed none of her graciousncss ;;S regards other human relations besides that of bue. That men should seek her in matrimony from a selfbh motive was as much to be expected as that ilies sliuulJ seek the sugar bowl. She accepted the fact as one .if natures laws, annoying enough but inevitable ; a thing to guard against, but not one of sufficient mo- ment to grieve over. With Tiiorpe, however, her suspicions had bfcn lulled. Thire is something virile and genuine abuat the woods and the men who inhabit them that strongly predisposes the mind to accept as proved in their en- tirety all the other virtues. Hilda had fallen into this state of mind She endowed each of the men wliom she encountered with all the robust (jualities she had no difficulty in recognizing as part of nature's clu.rtii in the wilderness. Now at a v.ord her eyes were opened to what she had done. She saw that she had assumed unquestioningly that her lover possessed the qualities of his environment. Not for a moment did she douDt the reality of her love. She had conceived one of those deep, uplifu'ig passions possible only to a young girl. But her cyni- cal experience warned her that the reality of that pas- sion's object was not proven by any test besides the fallible one of her own poc.izing imagination. 1 he reality of the ideal she had constructed might be a van- ishable quantity even though the love of it was not. So to the interview that ensued she brought, not the partiahty of a loving heart, nor even the imparualil)' THE BLAZED TRAIL 3>5 of one sitting in juds^mcnt. but ratlicr the perverted preuulice of one wlio actuallv fears the truth "Will you tell mc for what you want the nionev' " slu- asked. - " The younpT man caught the note of -listru^t \t once, instinctively, his own conti I m^mmas^'fi 3,6 THE BLAZED TRAIL mv life! " she cried. " Either you are not at all the man 1 thought you. or you have some better rcasc". Ihan vou have given. Tell me. lla^ry I tell me at one. . You don't know what you are tlo»"g„ „ " The firm needs it, Hilda." said Thorpe, m order to succeed. If we do not cut this pine, we ma;, ^""in that he stated his religion. The duty of success was to him one of the loftiest of abstraction, for it measured the degree of a man's efticiency in the sta- don to which God had called him. The money, as such was nothing to him. Ui^fortunately The girl had learned a different Ian euaee. She knew nothing of the hardships, the strug- lles the delight of winning for the sake of victciy Sther han tire sake of spoils. To her. success mean getting a lot of money. The name by winch Tho p fabelled his most sacred principle, to her represen ed son'ething base and sordid. She had more mo ■ > herself than she knew. It hurt her to the soul h t the condition of a small money-making machine a. she considered the lumber firm, should be weiglie 1 even for an instant against her love. It was a g e deal Thorpe's fault that she so saw the firm. He mipl ea'ily have shown her ihe great forces and principle. ^°^. If^ wei^ a ^n." she said, and her voice was ^s. " if I were a man and loved a woman. I would be reag to give up everything for her. My riches, my pr.de rSv'lile, m^y honor, my soul even - they woukl b^. - nothing, as less than nothing to me -if 1 Icn d Harry don't let me think I am mistaken Let th^ niSble firm of yours fail if ^-1 ,^t mus^ or lack my poor little temple of dreams, f e held ou ur hands with a tender gesture of appeal 1 he affa d gone hevond the preservation of a few trees, it -a^ become the question of an ideal. Uraduany, m ^^.^ THE BLAZED TRAIL 3»7 of herself, the conviction was forcinjj itself upon her tliat the man she had loved was no ditTcrent from the rot; that the ^^rced of the dollar had corrupicd liini too. By the mere yielding to her wishes, she wanted to prove the suspicion wrong. Now the strange pan of the whole situation was, tli.'it in two words Tliorpe could have cleared it. If he lu.(l explained that he needed the ten thousand dollars u> help i)ay a note givMi to save from ruin a foolish friend, he would have supplied to the affair just the hij^her motive the girl's clear spirituality demanded. Then she would have shared enthusiastically in the sacrifice, and been the more loving and repentant troni her momentary doubt. All she needed was that the man should prove himself actuated by a noble, i'lstcad of a sordid, motive. The young man did not say the two words, because in all honesty he thought them lUi- iinportant. It seemed to him quite natural that he should go on Wallace Carpenter's note. That fact altered not a bit the main necessity of success. It was a man's duty to make the best of himself, — it was 'lliorpe's duty to prove himself supremely efTicient in his chosen calling; the mere coincidence that hif, part- ner's troubles worked along the same lines meant nothing to the logic of the situation. In stating baldly that he needed the money to assure the firm's exist- ence, he imagined he had adduced the strongest possi- ble reason for his attitud If the girl was not influ- enced by that, the case was hopeless. It was the difference of training rather than the dif- ference of ideas. Both clung to unselfishness as the highest reason for human action ; but each expressed the thought in a manner incomprehensible to the other. I' I cannot, Hilda," he answered steadily. " You sell me for ten thousand dollars ! I cannot be lieve it ! Harry ! Harry ! Must i put it to you as !- i ! t a»8 IHE BLAZED TRAIL a choice? Don't you love me enough to spare ire that?" . . , ,., He did rot reply. As lonp; as it remained a diiLin- ma. he would not reply. He was in the ri.t^ht. " Do vou need the inoiu-y more t'uiii > but now he was terrible. His restless energy pcr.nc- ated every molecule in the economic stricture (aci which he presided, roused it to intense viDrat.on No- for an instant was there a rcstm spell. Ihe %.w smouuu affairs happened to be running for the "foment e^tr advantage, even the smallest, was eagerly seueH. advance th*. work. A drop of five degrees duru. THE BLAZKD TRAIL 3?! the frequent warm spells t)r<)ii,tTlit nuf the ' f,""nl:ntary^ccelei-ation as the ^^^^^^^ throucrh. In the main, and by large, the macnuit -And ^;:rcne poyrsc ry ends of two small floating logs. In this manner ti.e force cf the jump rushed the httle timbers end-on througii the water. The two men, mauitammg mar- vellously their balance, were thus ferried to within leaping distance of the other shore. In the meantime a barely perceptible motion xyas communicating itself from one particle [« aiK.i.ic, through the center of the jam. A cool and obscrNa spectator might have imagined that the broad timbei carpet was changing a little its pattern, just as uv earth near the windows of an arrested railroad tran seems for a moment to retrogress. The crew re doubled its exertions, clamping its peaveys hero a there, apparently at random, but in reality with th most definite of purposes. A sharp crar/c exploded u i mediately underneath. There could no longer cm. any doubt as to the motion, although it was as yet slug gish, glacial. Then in silence a log shifted - m sileiK and slowlv — but with irresistible force. Jmim Powers quietly stepped over it. just as it menaced a leir Other logs in all directions up-ended, ine jai crew were forced continually to alter their position riding the changing timbers bent-kneed, as a circi rider treads his four galloping horses. THE BLAZED TRAIL 3:9 Then all at once down by the face something crashed. The entire stream became aiive. It hissed and roared, it shrieked, groaned and grumbled. At first slowly, then more rapidly, the very forefront of the center melted inward and forward and downward until it caught the fierce rush of the freshet and sliot out from under the jam. Far up-slrcam, bristling and formidable, the tons of logs, grinding savagely to- gether, swept forward. The six men and Bryan Moloney — who, it will be remembered, were on top — worked until the last mo- ment. When the logs began to cave under them so rapidly that even the expert rivcrmen found difficulty in " staying on top," the foreman set the example of hunting safety. "She ' pulls,' boys," he yelled. Then in a manner wonderful to behold, through the smother of foam and spray, through the crash and yell of timbers protesting the Hood's hurrying, through the leap of destruction, the drivers zigzagged calmly and surely to the shore. All but Jimmy Powers. He poised tense and eager on the crumbling face of the jam. Almost immediate- ly he saw what he wanted, and without pause sprang buldly and confidently ten feet straight downward, to alr^ht with accuracy on a single log floating free in the aiirent. And then in the very glory and chaos of the jam itself he was swept down-stream. After a moment the constant acceleratic in speed checked, then commenced perceptibly to slacken. At once the rest of the crew began to ride down-stream. i-ach struck the caulks of his river boots stronglv into a log, and on such unstable vehicles floated miles with the current. From time to time, as Bryan Moloney indicated, one of them went ashore. There, usually at a bend of the stream where the likelihood of jamm'ing was great, they took their stands. When necessary, i ; f ^ 330 THE BLAZED TRAIL they ran out over the face of the river to separate congestion likely to cause trouble. The rest of *.h time they smoked their pipes. At noon they ate from little canvas bags which l.a been filled tha't morning by the cookee. At sunn they rode other logs down the river to where tli'.: camp had been made for them. There they ate hnj^i.! hung their ice-wet garments over a tall framework : structed around monster fire, and turned in on Ik : lock branches. All night long the logs slipped down the moonl current, silently, swiftly, yet without haste. The pui cupines invaded the sleeping camp. From the whu! length of the river rang the hollow boom, boom, boon of timbers striking one against the other. The drive was on. :'. ^'1 Chapter XLVII /N the meantime the main body of the crew under Thorpe and his foremen were briskly tunihlinj,' the lofjs into the current. Sometimes under the uri;- in^' of the peaveys, l)ut a sinj^lc sliok would slide down; or again a double tier would cascade with the roar of a little Niagara. The men had continually to keep on tl-.e tension of an alert, for at any moment they were called upon to exercise their best judgment and quick- ness to keep from being carried downward with the rush of the logs. Not infrequently a frowning sheer wall of forty feet would hesitate on the brink of plunge. Then Shearer himself proved his right to the title of rivcrman. Shearer wore caulks nearly an inch in length. He had been known to ride ten miles, without shifting his feet, on a log so small that he could carry it without difficulty. For cool nerve he was unexcelled. " 1 don't need you boys here any longer," he said quietly. When the men had all withdrawn, he walked confi- dently under the front of the rollway. glancing with pr^icticed eye at the perpendicular wall of logs over him. Then, as a man pries jack-straws, he clamped his peavey and tugged sharply. At once the rolhvay flattened and toppled. A mighty splash, a hurl of fly- ing foam and crushing timbers, and the spot on which the nverman had stood was buried beneath twenty feet of solid green wood. To Thorpe it seemed that Shearer must have been overwhelmed, but the river- raan always mysteriously appeared at one side or the 331 11: I il ki * i '1^ i i c * ^ 1 ,. J k 1 i i ^^H ! 4 ■ It) ,.3 ■ ^•1,* ').) IjoIow the spot planned, — liilly Camp pushed back his bat- tered old brLUii derby hat, the badj^e of his oftico, with a sigh of relief. To be sure he and his men had still to cut wood, construct cooking and camp tires, pitch tents, snip browse, and prejiare supiKr for seventy men; but the hard work of the day was over. Billy Camp did not mind rain or cold — he would cheerfully cook away with the water dripping from his battered derby to his chubby and cold-purpled nose — but he did mind the wanigan. And the worst of it was, he got no sympathy nor aid from the crew. From either bank he and his anxious struggling assist- ants were greeted with ironic cheers and facetious re- marks. The tribulations of the wanigan were as the salt vi life to the spectators. Lilly Camp tried to keep back of the rear in clear water, but when the wanigan so disposed, he found hiiii;elf jammed close in the logs. There he had a chance in his turn to become -pectatcr, and so to re- pay in kind some of the irony and facetiousness. Along either bank, among the bushes, on sandbars, and in trees, hundreds and hundreds of logs had been stranded when the main drive passed. These logs the rear crew were engaged in restoring to the cur- rent. And as a man had to be able to ride any kind of a lo^' in any water ; to propel that log by jum[)ing on it, by rolling it squirrel fashion with the feet, by punting it as one would a canoe; to be skillful in pushing, pry- ing, and poling other logs from the quarter deck of the same cranky craft; as he must be prepared at any and all times to jump waist deep into the river, to work in ice-water hours at a stretch ; ar. he was called upon to break the most dangerous jams on the river, repre- Sttiting, as the^ did^ the accumulation which the jam i rf.wr: 334 THE BLAZED TftAIL I * III .4 crew had !< ft behind ♦ the lieight of q;lo vscre the best f reputation as nothing. Kvery mornin<. tii, tions under Kerl i i' charfjc of one s' o incf It thorough Scotty Parsons ■ over both crews and forth the lens.' n, it was naturally considered 'ong to tlie rear crew. Here duiii'..,' I'i)rty, — men with i -.r birlers " — men afraid (•; s were divided into two ser !< liy.and. I\ach crew haij = • 'T tlic task of cleaii- .. and entaii,L,'k'd !c».L,'^ ' . general supcrvisorv cvr iH-a d Tliorpc traveled back of t, , ridiiif; the logs down st'-eam, but takir g to a par, y .-ubnicrgcd pole trail when ascending the oiirri nt. On the surface of ihe river in the clear uattr lioated :\\u long graceful boats called bateaux. These were in charge of expert boat- men, — men able to propel their craft swiftly forwards, backwards and sideways, through all kinds of water. They carried in racks a great supply of pike-poles, pcaveys, axes, rope and dynamite, for use in variou-. emergencies. Intense rivalry existed as to which crew " sacked " the farthest down stream in the course of the day. There was no ni cd to urge the men. Sonic- stood upon the logs, pushing mightily with the lon;^ pike-poles. Others, waist deep in the water, clamped the jaws of their pcaveys into the stubborn timbcf^. and, shoulder bent, slid ihcm slowly but surely into the swifter waters. Still others, lining up on either side of one of the great brown tree trunks, carried it bodilv to its appjinicd place. From one end oi the rear the other, shouts, calls, warnings, and jokes flew back and forth. Once or twice a vast roar of Ilomciic laughter went up as some unfortunate slipped ami soused into tlie water. When the current slacked, and the logs hesitated in their run, the entire crew hastened, bobbing from log to log, down river to see about it. Then they broke the jam, standnig surely on tiie cd^e THK BLAZED TRAIL 335 :nj:^^:i^.:^^::' ^^-"''^ ^'- - -tor sucked m tl>c bottom tars 1 ^ ' 7n "tt'^r''?."'"" /'H">' ^^ 'h--' bed of the .. ,r -^ :."'' ',° '°^-^^" ♦'^^'"' f^'"^ k^lcarncd Htilc tierce 0x0^^ Srf T' ,"";^''' ^^'"^''^ lil' '"^=''- I - . .r t , f':; i 336 THE BLAZED TRAIL to break, though strangely enough almost every one of the old-timers believed implicitly that " in the full of the moon logs will run free at night." Thorpe and Tim Shearer nearly always slept in a dog tent at the rear ; though occasionally they passed the night at Dam Two, where Bryan Moloney and his crew were already engaged in sluicing the logs through the chute. The afTair was simple enough. Long booms ar- ranged in the form of an open V guided the drive to the sluice gate, through which a smooth apron of water rushed to turmoil in an eddying pool below. Two men tramped steadily backwards and forwards on the booms, urging the logs forward by means of long pike poles to where the suction could seize them. Below the dam, the push of the sluice water forced them sev- eral miles down stream, where the rest of Bryan Mo- loney's crew took them in charge. Thus through the 'vide gate nearly three-quarters of a million feet an hour could be run — a quantity more than sufficient to keep pace with the exertions of the rear. The matter was, of course, more or less delayed by the necessity of breaking out such roll- ways as they encountered from time to time on the banks. At length, however, the last of the logs drift- ed into the wide dam pool. The rear had arrived at Dam Two, and Thorpe congratulated himself that one stage of his journey had been completed. Billy Camp began to worry about shooting the wanigan through the sluice-way. 1 Chapter XL VIII da)s, and was about rca.ly to break car..o, ivhen .hen, o/t'LT^^r" ^~^™« ^"°" "- '""' » ' =•' 5,irp.^--o7't,re.t.[-Tii€,l had so gouged GUI the soft rock below that an ^Hh" ?rcat power had formed in the ba s'n ' Sl^arer anj ^s^':^^s.^':^t;^o-t!!:dr jam crewVbest efforts ' ^ ' '""^'^ ^^^^' "^'^'^ '^'' ^.;;^bhe may ' pull/ if ^he gets a good start," decided the course oi a day. Several time* the jaJst^ted^ ■V\r: 1 n f 1 i f' |! fl r ' ■ ' I .' , , 1 ' 1 :, ,; ' f ^ ' 1 i i 338 THE BLAZED TRAIL but always " plugged " before the motion had become irresistible. This was mainly because the rocky walls narrowed at a slight bend to the west, so that the drive was throttled, as it were. It was hoped that perhaps the middle of the jam might burst through here, leav- ing the wings stranded. The hope was groundless. " We'll have to shoot," Shearer reluctantly decided. The men were withdrawn. Scotty Parsons cut a sapling twelve feet long, and trimmed it. Big Junko thawed his dynamite at a little fire, opening the ends of the packages in order that the steam generated might escape. Otherwise the pressure inside the oiled paper of the package was capable of exploding the whole afifair. \\ hen the powder was warm, Scotty bound twenty of the cartridges around the end of the sapling, adjusted a fuse in one of them, and soaped the opening to exclude water. Then Big Junko thrust the long javelin down into the depths of the jam, leav- ing a thin stream of smoke behind him as he turned away. With sinister, evil eye he watched the smoke for an instant, then zigzagged awkwardly over the jam, the long, ridiculous tails of his brown cutaway coat flopping behind him as he leaped. A scant moment later the hoarse dynamite shouted. Great chunks of timber shot to an inconceivable height ; entire logs lifted bodily into the air with the motion of a fish jumping ; a fountain of water gleamed against the sun and showered down in fine rain. The jam shrugged and settled. That was all ; the " shot " had failed. The men ran forward, examining curiously the great hole in the log formation. " We'll have to flood her," said Thorpe. So all the gates of the dam were raised, and the tor- rent tried its hand. It had no effect. Evidently the affair was not one of violence, but of patience. The crew went doggedly to work. ^W^ THE BLAZED TRAIL 339 practicable methorl u..= ? ^ of machinery. The only leaving a l^ni ton^uo .J'f "^'f'^' '^'' ^^"'^ '"^s. ha ''AnJ;:L"\"°^J^5-^^^ into that. Any but the fJ.^"^,' '"^^ ^ P'^^^'^'X '^"ow bled ^ fighting l-orty would have gram- of attention, so thaf by he end o\Z \^'''' ^'"^ of curiosity seekers wer J ir,- ^ '''''^^' ^ ""^ber the Big Jam A certnin rT "^ °';"' '^"'■>' '^^y ^o ^^e of balsam health J? Chicago journalist in search I uaisam health of lungs even sent to his paper 1 little rTothespot""'A?H''''^ '^""^^t VVall'acrCarp „- of tf str, ife'rSedt^s-ef '' '^ ''' ^^''^^ toIeVectl'tors" TheT^'^M^f "Z^'- ^^'^ ^ <^'-- mit of Ihe goree cliff?n "^ '/""'' °'' ^'^ °" ^'^^ ^um- and the jam !^V 'he 'clTl "'j'"^/'^'^-'''^^^' ^he fall, the vi.v lackedtSr^^^^^^ sixty feet high, " w • ^^J,^^''^'" became angry. ';Next^ti;^.et"lire\rn"terZt^"^ '''' '^■ shut the dams dowrtight anL v ' , ^^ °"^- ^^^''' tliat'll start her" ^ dr>-pick out two wings doln' 'Sy": 5rop" f ^^ 1"" r^'' -^ ^hen shut the stream. The crews sit hf- ^"^^ '" '^' bed of a-^cl roll the log out7n sich flaTf';:^''^ \°'^' ^^ P"" 01 water shoulLend them ou^ " "' ' ""''^ had notThVp'".^''^'' ^^'■'^ ^'^^" the other, for ^^^e- not the floating power of water to help thei;i 1i 'r 'I ■PiiP I h . i. J il h '^"1 if ! i; ; t s i ■ ■ i t 340 THE BLAZED TRAIL the lu'tmg. As usual, part of the men worked below, part above. Jimmy Powers, curly-haired, laughing-faced, was ir- repressible. He badgered the others until they threw bark at him and menaced him with their peavcys. Always he had at his tongue's end tlie proper quip for the occasion, so that in the long run the work was lightened by him. When the men stopped to think at all, they thought of Jimmy Powers with very kindly hearts, for it was known that he had had more trouble than most, and that the coin was not made too small for him to divide with a needy comrade. To those who had seen his mask of whole-souled good-nature fade into serious sympathy, Jimmy Powers's poor little jokes were very funny indeed. " Did 'je see th' Swede at the circus las' summer? " he would howl to Red Jacket on the top tier. " No," Red Jacket would answer, " was he there? " "Yes," Jimmy Powers would reply; then, after a pause — " in a cage ! " It was a poor enough jest, yet if you had been the*-c. you would have found that somehow the log had in the meantime leaped of its own accord from that difficult position. Thorpe approved thoroughly of Jimmy Powers ; he thought him a good influence. He told Wallace so, standing among the spectators on the cliff-top. " He is all right," said Thorpe. " I wish I had more like him. The others are good boys, too." I'lve men were at the moment tugging futilcly at a reluctant timber. They were attempting to roll one end of it over the side of another projcctir.g log. but were continually foiled, because the other end was jammed fast. Each bent his knees, inserting his shoul- der under the projecting peavey stock, to straighten in a mighty effort. " Hire a boy 1 " " Get some powder of Junko I " THE BLAZED TRAIL o4' ' Have Jimmy talk it out ! " " Try that little one over by the corner," called the men on top of the jam. Everybody laughed, of course. It was a fine spring day, clcar-eycd and crisp, with a hint of new foliage in the thick buds of the trees. The air was so pellucid that one distinguished without difificulty the straight entrance to the gorge a mile awav, and even the \Vest Bend, fully five miles distant. Jimmy Powers took off his cap and wiped his fore- head. "You boys," he remarked politely, " think you are boring with a mighty big auger." "My God! " screamed one of the spectators on top of the cliff. ^ At the same instant Wallace Carpenter seized his friend's arm and pointed. Down the bed of the stream from the upper bend rushed a solid wall of water several feet high. It flung Itself forward with the headlong impetus of a cascade. Even in the short interval between the visitor's ex- clamation and Carpenter's rapid gesture, it had loomed into sight, twisted a dozen trees from the river bank, and foamed into the entrance of the gorge. An instant later it collided with the tail of the jam. Even in the railroad rush of those few moments sev- eral things happened. Thorpe leaped for a rope. The crew working on top of the jam ducked instinctively to right and left and began to scramble towards safety. The men below, at first bewildered and not compre- hending, finally understood, and ran towards the face of the jam with the intention of clambering up it. There could be no escape in the narrow canon below! the walls of which rose sheer. Then the flood hit square. It was the impact of ir- resistible power. A great sheet of water rose like surf from the tail of the jam ; a mighty cataract poured down over its surf-ce, hiiing the free logs; from either I s I t i m 342 THE BLAZED TRAIL I ^m i : ' i \' ' f 1 4 J; * i ■>, ! j L t I i • wing timbers crunched, split, rose suddenly into wracked prominence, twisted beyond the semblance of themselves. Here and there single logs were even projected bodily upwards, as an apple seed is shot from between the thumb and forefinger. Then the jam moved. Scotty Parsons, Jack Hyland, Red Jacket, and the forty or fifty top men had reached the shore. By the wriggling activity which is a riverman's alone, they succeeded in pulling themselves beyond the snap of death's jaws. It was a narrow thing for most of them, and a miracle for some. Jimmy Powers, Archie Harris, Long Pine Jim, Big Nolan, and Mike Moloney, the brother of Bryan, were in worse case. They were, as has been said, engaged in " flattening " part of the jam about eight or ten rods below the face of it. When they finally understood that the affair was one of escape, they ran towards the jam, hoping to climb out. Then the crash came. They heard the roar of the waters, the wrecking of the timbers, they saw the logs bulge outwards in anticipa- tion of the break. Immediately they turned and fled, they knew not where. All but Jimmy Powers. He stopped short in his tracks, and threw his battered old felt hat defiantly full into the face of the destruction hanging over him. Then, his bright hair blowing in the wind of death, he turned to the spectators standing helpless and para- lyzed, forty feet above him. It was an instant's impression, — the arrested mo- tion seen in the flash of lightning — and yet to the onlookers it had somehow the quality of time. For perceptible duration it seemed to them they stared at the contrast between the raging hell above and the yet peaceable river bed below. They were destined to re- member that picture the rest of their natural lives, in such detail that each one of them could almost have .fjl^r. H/**>iVS:-. ^i-^\'smES>^^ '"i^iMms'L^it 1 J-JJ^A -.tViVv'V" THE BLAZED IRAIL 343 reproduced i, photographically by simply closing hi, ald^3L?i„'?r,;-™.^^-'-°-„i:-'rir-"^S'«;etr T».« .1,^"^'' ^""J,--" ^'^^>' '^^''^''f' Jimmv Povvcrs's voire r I Jl i r:r "1 ■ 1 i M Chapter XLIX X^URING perhaps ten seconds the survivoi M I'.vatched the end of Thorpe's rope trailing in t!i J^_^^ \\oo<\. Then the young man with a deep sig began to pull it towards him. At once a hundred surmises, questions, cjaculatior broke out. " What happened?" cried Wallace Carpenter. " What was that man's name? " asked the Chicag journalist with the eager instinct of his profession. " This is terrible, terrible, terrible ! " a white-haire physician from Marquette kept repeating over an over. A half dozen ran towards the point of the clifT to pec down stream, as though they could hope to distir guish anything in that waste of flood water. " The dam's „-one out," replied Thorpe. " I don understand it. Everything was in good shape, as f.i as I could see. It didn't act like an ordinary breai The water came too fast. Why, it was as dry as bone until just as that wave came along. An ordinar break would have eaten through little by little befor it burst, and Davis should have been able to stop i This came all at once, as if the dam had disappears I don't see." His mind of the professional h;d already began t query causes. " How about the men ? " asked Wallace. " Isn there something I can do ? " " You can head a hunt down the river," answer? Thorpe. " I ♦hink it is useless until the water %ot 344 m m^'^>ii^ i?-ir'-. ■>^' THE BLAZED TRAIL 345 down. Poor Jimmy. Pic was one of the best men I had. I wouldn't have had this happen " The horror of the scene was at last bcj^innintj to fil- ter through numbness into Wallace Carpenter's im- pressionable imagination. " No, no ! " he cried vehemently. " There is some- thmg criminal about it to me 1 I'd rather lose every log in the river!" ^ Thorpe looked at him curiously. " It is one of the chancts of war," said he, unal)!e to refrain from the utterance of his creed. " We all know it." "I'd better divide the crew and take in both banks of the river, suggested Wallace in his constitutional necessity of doing something, " Sec if you can't get volunteers from this crowd " suggested Ihorpe. " I can let you have two men to show you trails. If you can make it that way, it will help me out. I need as many of the crew as possible to use this flood water." "Oh, Harry," cried Carpenter, shocked. "You can t be going tc vvork again to-day after that horrible sight, before we have made the slightest efifort to re- cover the bodies! " ,." V-^]^ ^°^*^^ ^^" ^e recoveied, they shall be " re- phed Ihorpe quietly. " But the drive will not wait. VVe have no dams to depend on now, you must remem- ber, and we shall have to get out on freshet water " \our men won't work. I'd refuse just as they will cried Carpenter, his sensibilities still suffering. Ihorpe smiled prourily. " You do not know thern. 1 hey are mme. I hold them in the hollow of ray hand ! ' " ^^./S^^r- " ^""'^^ ^'^^ journalist in sudden enthusi- asm. ByJo\e! that is magnificent ! " Ihe men of the river crew had crouched on their narrow footholds while the jam went out. Each had ciung to nib peavey, as is th- iiabit of rivermeu. Down r t I : is! , il « ' JJtl 346 THE BLAZED TRAIL the current past their feet swept the debris of flood. Soon logs began to swirl by, — at first few, then man v — from the remaining rollways which the river hai) automatically broken. In a little time the eddy cau^lit up some of these logs, and immediately the inception of another jam threatened. The rivcrmLii, wiiliuu hesitation, as calmly as though catastrophe hail not thrown the weight of its moral terror against their sto- icism, sprang, peavey in hand, to the insistent work. " By Jove ! " said the journalist again. " That is magnificent ! They are working over the spot where their comrades died ! " Thorpe's face lit with gratification. He turned to the young man. " You see," he said in proud simplicity. With the added danger of freshet water, the work went on. At this moment Tim Shearer approached from in- land, his clothes dripping wet, but his face retaining its habitual expression of iron calmness. " Anybody caught ? " was his first question as he drew near. " Five men under the face," replied Thorpe briefly. Shearer cast a glance at the river. He needed to be told no more. " I was afraid of it," said he. " The rollways must be all broken out. It's saved us that much, but the freshet water won't last long. It's going to be a close squeak to get 'em out now. Don't exactly figure on what struck the dam. Thought first I'd go right up that way, but then I came down to see about the boys." Carpenter could not understand this apparent cal- lousness on the part of men in whom he had always thought to recognize a fund of rough but genuine feel- ing. To him the sacredness of death was incompatible with the insistence of work. To these others the two, of grim necessity, went hand in hand. " Where were you ? " asked Thorpe of Shearer. • !-fl« THE BLAZED TRAIL 34; *' On the pole trail. I pot in a little, as you see " In reality the foreman had had a close call for his Me. A toughly-rooted ba.svvood alunc had saved " t.^-'^k''^ ^'?^'"' ?° "P """"^ ^^^"^ ^ '"^"'^••" he suggested, in boys has things going here all right " .7 tf. ^^.? "'.*■'" ^"''"'^^ towards the brush. Hi, lim," called a voice bchiiul them Red Jacket appeared clambering up the cliff Jack told me to give this to you," he panted, hold- ing out a chunk of strangely twisted wood ^^ VVhcre d he get this? " inquire I Thorpe, quickly Its a piece of the dam," he explained to VVallace who had drawn near. va..dtc, "Picked it out of the current," replied the man The foreman and his boss bent eagerly over the morsel. Then they stared with solemnity mto each other s eyes. " Dynamite, by God I " exclaimed Shearer. Tf 'CiiiKi %snimf!'^Km iiiii fiif: •i Chapter L g. ^OR a moment the three men stared at each Ay otlicr witliout speaking^. M. "What does it mean?" almost whispercl Carpenter. "Mean? Foul play!" snarled Thorpe. "Come on, Tim." The two struck into the brush, threading the paths with the case of woodsmen. It was necessary to keep to the high inland ridges for the simple reason that the pole trail had by now become impassable. Wallace Carpenter, aitcmpting to follow them, ran, stumbled, and fell through brush that continually whipped his face and garments, continually tripped his feet. .All he could obtain was a vanishing glimpse of his com- panions' backs. Thorpe and his foreman talked briefly. " It's Morrison and Daly," surmised Shearer. " I left them 'count of a tnck like that. They wanted me ♦o take charge of Perkinson's drive and hang her a purpose. I been suspecting something — they've been layin' too low." Thorpe answered nothing. Through the site of the old dam they found a torrent pouring from the nar- rowed pond, at the end of which the dilapidated wings flapping in the current attested the former structure. Davis stood staling at the current. Thorpe strode lorward and shook him violently by the shoulder. " How did this happen?" he demanded hoarsely. " Speak 1" '^f%:i:-^t^iiif:: THE BLAZED TRAIL " I don't know. The man turned to him in a daze, he answered. "You ou^rht to know. How was that ' sliot ' ex- plocled ? How did tlicy ffct in here with.n.t v. . ^ them ? Answer me ! " wUUuut >uu .secmg *' I (lon't know." repeated the man. " I jest went over ,n th' hresh to k.ll a lew „ati.,!ffes, an 1 " come hack I fu.md her this wiy. A^sn^ , J\^ clo.e dovvn for three hours yet. and 1 tliought tl-y was no use a hanpfui' around here." i-k> ua^ " Were you hired to watch this dam. u,- v\ rcn't you?- demanJcd the tense voice of Thorpe •■ lulwlr me, you fool. ' * -vnswer " Yes, I was " returned the man, a shade u^ aL-rr.- 8ion creeping into his voice. ^' ' "V\ell you've ,k,nc it well. You've co.t m '.y dam. and you vek.lkd five men. If the crew iui.l ,,ut about you you'll gu over the falls, sure You ' 't uu of here! P,ke ! Don't you ever let me seV;ottr face The man blanched as he thus learned of his com- ades deaths, 'i horpe thrust his face at hinilashTd by arcumstances beyond his habitual self-coi" ;oI .. .riv. "^"r. ^ ^>'" '^''° "'^"^e ^'^e trouble," he ormed. Damn fools who say they didn't mcaS f.can not to! I don t ask you to think. I just want .-H, ,to do what I tell you, and you can't'evU do He threw his shoulder into a h^avy blow that ached the dam watcher's face, and followed kTmrne- d'ately by another. Then Shearer cauc^ht his arm motionmg the dazed and bloody victim of the attaS ^ get out of sight. Thorpe shook his foreman off H one impatient motion, and strode away up the I I ■J *■.'?" ' ':.^W^ 1C f ■. ! ! i 350 THE BLAZED TRAIL " I reckon you'd better mosey." Shearer dryly ad- vised tlie dam watcher ; and followed. Late in the afternoon the two men reached Dam Three, or rather the spoi on which Dam Three had stood. The same spectacle repeated itself here, ex- cept that EUis, the dam watcher, was nowhere to be seen. " The dirty whelps," cried Thorpe, " they did a e:ood job!" He thrashed about here and there, and so came across Ellis blindfolded and tied. When released, the dam watcher was unable to give any account of his assailants. " They came up behind me while I was cooking," he said. " One of 'em grabbed me and the other one kivered my eyes. Then I hears the ' shot ' and knows there's trouble." Thorpe listened in silence. Shearer asked a few- questions. After the low-voiced conversation Thorpe arose abruptly. " Where you going? " asked Shearer. But the young man did not reply. He swung, with the same long, nervous stride, into the down-river trail. Until late that night the three men — for ElHs in- sisted on accompanying them — hurried through the forest. Thorpe walked tirelessly, upheld by his violent but repressed excitement. \\ hen his hat fell from his head, he either did not notice the fact, or did not care to trouble himself for its recovery, so he glance! through the trees bare-headed, his broad white brow gleaming in the moonlight. Shearer noted the fire in his eyes, and from the coolness of his greater age, counselled moderation. " I wouldn't stir the boys up," he panted, for the pace was very swift. " They'll kill some one over there, it'll be murde- on both sides." THE BLAZED TRAIL 35, to ^rcan^'^ "" '"^""^- ^^°"t "^'d-'ght they came pa^UhS of'sll^nf'^ among the trees, and the men. The esson o? ui ^'i^r^T'"^ ^'''^■'"" ^''^"^' talking ine lesson of twisted timbers was not lost to their experience, and the evening had brought its accun la .on of slow anger against the pc^.petr1lto;s of tToi?: [pSs hnT , '' T'" ''''' ""' ^'^*-'" I" oratorical mouth- ing., but their low-voiced exchanges between the nnff ;.';^tert' '^'^i r^ ' ^^-\'- P^urpos^than'thrt^oi nyMeria liven as the woodsmen joined their trroun t S pun":; rf '"^ 'r""'^>'- ^^ --utiom "I "oTs '*yS luKt nor^'.^'f'^' "'"^'^"''>- '"^ P^^rsonality. vou must not go,' he commanded. "^ " iS i it •''"Th"^'' '^'''' ^^'^^'^ '' ^""^ ^^Je very bigness of the man commiided T^-" ■it i If • V .1 i'f *' f. f 352 THE BLAZED TRAIL tion. When he spoke, his coarse, good-natured, every- day voice fell through the tense situation, Clarifying it, restoring it to the normal. " You fellows make me sick," said he. " You haven't got the sense God gave a rooster. Don't you see you're playing right in those fellows' hands? What do you suppose they dynamited them dams for? To kill oiir boys? Don't' you believe it for a minute. They never dreamed we was dry pickin' that jam. They sent some low-lived whelp down there to hang our drive, and by smoke it looks like they was going to succeed, thanks to you mutton-heads. " 'Spose you go over and take 'em apart ; what then ? You have a scrap ; probably you lick 'em." The men growled ominously, but did not stir. " You whale daylights out of a lot of men who probably don't know any more about this here shooting of our dams than a hog does about a rufiFled shirt. Meanwhile your drive hangs. Well? Well? Do you suppose the men who were back of that shooting, do you suppose Morrison and Daly give a tinker's dam how many men of theirs you lick ? What they want is to hang our drive. If they hang our drive, it's cheap at the price of a few black eyes." The speaker paused and grinned good-humoredly at the men's attentive faces. Then suddenly his own be- came grave, and he swung into his argument all the impressiveness of his great bulk. " Do you want to know how to get even ? " he asked, shading each word. " Do you want to know how to make those fellows sing so small you can't hear them ? Well, I'll tell you. Take out this 'drive! Do it in spite of them ! Show them they're no good when they buck up against Thorpe's One ! Our boys died doing their duty — the way a riverman ought to. Now hump your- selves! Don't let 'em die in vain ! " The crew stirred uneasily, looking at each other for Wt^^^fm THE BLAZED TRAIL 3^3 •pproval of the conversion each had experienced S::',n^;va"r,",Ul'aV^^'^'"*«''^' "■--' --^^^^^^ n d h',^7a:k'a r *"„ '""" "' "^' asai^.'s^r'^ J, ° ?o;td\tadfir/e^;a^e5"'r,^;^„r.rs'i r^: q«y.''°K s ,!;:iSe7.",;rsr;rnl^d s.'rv-'^ man ,vho is vvillin. ,o allow .he ri?l™ofo,he'™e,l,o1,' John Radwa/ ' ^""^ ^'' ^""''^ connection with m\ ' Chapter LI "F^EFORE day!i,s:ht Injin Charley drifted into the A^canip to iind Thorpe already out. With a curt J^ nod the Indian seated himself by the fire, and, producing a square plug of tobacco and a knife, be- gan leisurely to fill his pipe. Thorpe watched him in silence. Finally Injin Charley spoke in the red man's clear-cut, imitative English, a pause between each sen- tence. " I find trail three men," said he. " Both dam, three men. One man go down river. Those men have cork-boot. One man no have cork-boot. He boss." The Indian suddenly threw his chin out, his head back, half closed his eyes in a cynical squint. As by a flash Dyer, the scaler, leered insolently from behind the Indian's stolid mask. " How do you know ? " said Thorpe. For answer the Indian threw his shoulders forward in Dvcr's nervous fashion. " He make trail big by the toe, light by the heel. He make trail big on inside." Charley arose and walked, after Dyer's springy fashion, illustrating his point in the soft wood ashes of the immediate fireside. Thorpe looked doubtful. " I believe you are right, Charley," said he. " But it is mighty little to go on. You can't be sure." " 1 s— e," replied Charley. He putted strongly at the heel of his smoke, then arose, and without farewell disappeared in the forest. Thorpe ranged the camp impatiently, glancing 354 .^ ■^''"'■f'^ ^'""'^ '''t '^'^-^t clear river. m.uln? ^YP*;"^^ '^O"'^ not understand how hu- man flesh and blood endured. The men themselves had long since reached the point of practical e.x laus! ad^r WoT "'■•"'^f ^'"7^"' ''y ''"^ fi'-^-' -f t"'^ i'h then^ h ' t^g^e.d until he stormed into sight , then It became frenzied. He seemed to imnart ea r^tiut'in ,'•" ,^"^;^""-^ ^°^" ^"^ e.xcit!:;.iura real as that induced by brandy. W hen he looked at ptllped. "°"' cavernous, burning eyes, that man it was all willing enough work. Several def5nite causes, each adequate alone to something extrlo^dj! p. I [1 i '5rtJ' "I .'if 35& THE BLAZED TRAIL nary, focussed to the necessity. His men worshipped Thorpe ; the idea of thwarting the purpo-es of their comrade's murderers retained its strength ; the innate pride of caste and craft — the sturdiest virtue of the riverman — was in these picked men increased to the dignity of a passion. The great psychological forces of a successful career gathered anil made head against the circumstances which such careers always arouse in polarity. Impossibilities were pufYed aside like thistles. The men went at them headlong. They gave way before the rush. Thorpe always led. Not for a single in- stant of the day nor for many at night was he at rest. He was like a man who has taken a deep breath to reach a definite goal, and who cannot exhale until the burst of speed be over. Instinctively he seemed to realize that a let-down would mean collapse. After the camp had fallen askep, he would often lie awake half of the few hours of their night, every muscle tense, staring at the sky. His mind saw (kfinitely every detail of the situation as he had last viewed it. In advance his imagination stooped and sweated to the work which his body was to accomplish the next morn- ing. Thus he did everything twice. Then at last the tension would relax. He would fall into uneasy sleep. But twice that did not follow. Throup^Ii the dissolvini^ iron uJot of his striving, a sha.p thought cleaved like an arrow. It was that after all he did not care. The religion of Success no longer iicld him as its devout- est worshiper. He was throwing the fibers of his life into the engine of toil, not because of moral duty, but because of moral pride. He meant to succeed in order to prove to himself that he had not been wrong. The pain of the arrow-v>ound always aroused him from his doze with a start. He grimly laughed the thought out of court. To his walcing moments his re- ligion was .sincere, was real. But deep down in his THE BLAZED TRAIL 357 fub-consciousness, below his recognition, the other influence was growing like a weed. Perhaps the vis- ion not the wairmjr, had been right. Perhaps that far- off beautiful drca.n of a girl which Thorpe's ideahsm had constructed from the reactionary neces ities S Thorpes harsh life Lad been more real than h ore? temples of h.s ruthless god! Perhaps there were greater tliuigs than to succeed, greater things than success Perhaps, after all. .he Power that put^us re demands more that we cleave one to the other in lov- ng-kindness than that we learn to blow the penny whistles It has tossed us. And then the keen, poi^^ nant meniory of the dream girl stole into the youifg man s mjnd. and in agony wa.^ immediately thrust ,n T-T \^ y°"^'' "°' ^'""'^ ^^ '^^'•- He had given her fL^]' '•'^"'' ;'?" '^'"- ^^'^ ^"^^ess he had bar- tered her. ,„ the noblest, the loftiest spirit of devotion. He re usee to behcve that devotion fanatical ; he r" fused to beheve that he had been wrong In he still edr'^"S%?^ ''f ,r'^''' ^'' ^'^"'^ "^^ ^"^ stea to the edge of the dully roaring stream. There his eves blinded and his throat choked with a longing more rnanly than tears, he would reach out and smo?tl?tl e round rough coats of the great logs self " UVl/'r "■}]' 't^'P''',^ t° them -and to him- not-haveW'usl''' ^^'^'^ ^^ wrong. God would I'i m. ^^^iMmmf:- !• Chapter LII TT TALLAGE CARPENTER'S search cxpcdi- l^m^ tion had proved a faiUirc, as Tliorjje had r r foreseen, but at the end of tlic week, when the water began >• recede, the little bcatdes ran ui)fm a mass of flesh arid bones. Tlie man was unrecogniza- ble, either as a^i individual or as a human hjing. The remains were wrapped in canvas and s(miI for inter- ment in the cemetery at Marciucttc. Three of the others were never found. The last did not come to light until after the drive had quite finished. Down at the booms the jam crew received the drive as fast as it came down. From one crib to another across the broad extent of the river's mouth, heavy booms were chained end to end effectually to close the exit to Lake Superior. Against these the logs caromed softly in the slackened current, and stopped. The cribs were very heavy with slanting, instead of square, tops, in order that the pressure might be down- wards instead of sidewise. This guaranteed their permanency. In a short time the sur.'ace of the lagoon was covered by a brown carpet of logs running in strange patterns like windrows of fallen grain. Final- ly, across the straight middle distance (jf the river, ap- peared little agitated specks leaping back and forth. Thus the rear came in sight and the drive was all but over. Up till now the weather had been clear but oppres- sively hot for this time of year. The heat had come suildenly and maintained itself well. It had search' 'i out with fierce directness all the patches of snow lying 353 — -" u. ■m^- THE BLAZED TRAIL 359 under tlic thick firs and balsams of the swamp edge, It had shaken kj(jsc tlic anchor ice of the marsh bot- tonis, and so had materially aided the success of the drive by increase of water. The men had worked for the most part in nnder>hirts. Tliev were as much in the water as out of it. fur the icv bath had become al- most grateful. Ilamihun, the journalist, who had attached hmiself defmitely to the drive, distributed bunches of papers, m which the men read that the un- seasonable condition prevailed all over the country. At length, however, it gave signs of breaking. 'The sky, which had been of a steel blue, harbored great piled thunder-heads. Occasionallv athwart the heat shot a streak of cold air. Towards evening the thun- ( er-heads shifted and fmally dissipated, to be sure, but the portent was there. Hamilton's papers began to tell of disttirbance«; in the South and West. A wa.shout in Arkansas de- railed a tram • a cloud-burst in Texas wiped out a camp; the cities along the Ohio River were enjoying their annual Hood with the usual concomitants of llo-iting houses and boats in the streets. The men wished they had some of that water here. So finally the drive approached its end and all con- cerned began in anticipation to taste the weariness that awaited them. They had hurried their powers .lie tew remaining tasks still confronting them, all at once seemed more formidable than what thcv liad ac- complished. Ihey cuukl not contemplate further ex- ertion. The work for the first time became dogged, distasteful. Even Thorpe was infected. He, too wanted more than anything else to drop on the bed in Airs. Hathaway's boarding house, there to sponge from his mind all colors but the dead grav of rest Ihcre remained but a few things to do." A mile of sacking would carry the drive bevond t!ie inlluence ot freshet water. After that there would be no hurry 36o THE BLAZED TRAIL He looked around at the hard, fatij^ue-worn fai.es of the men al>oiit hiin, and in ihc ohiossion of his wearied mood lie suddenly fell a guat ru^l^ of atT> rtion lor these comrades who had so unreservedly spent themselves for his affair. Their features showed cx- hausticjn, it i> true, hut their eyes gleamed sldl wiili the steady half-humorous puri)o-e of the pionci r. When they caught his glar.ce they grinned good- humoredly. All at once Thorpe turned and started for the hank. "That'll do, 1)0}S," he said t> Thorpe, his attention struck at last, stared .-' companion. He noted tlie man's little twinkli mal eyes his high check bones, his Hat nu-, , his tiu.i and slobbery lips, his straggling, fierce mustache and eyebrows, his grotescjue long-tailed cutaway coat, iso to him, too. this primitive man reaching dully from primordial chaos, the great moment had yielded its vision. '' " Who is she? " he askv d abruptly. " She used to wash at Camp lour." Thorpe dimly rem mbcred the woman now — an over\u|ighted creature with a certain attraction of elf- ishly blowmghair, with a certain pleasing full-cheeked, tuU-bosomed health. The two walked ot, In re-established silence. Final- ly tlie giant, unable to contain himself longer, broke out again. ^ " I do like that woman," said he with a qm.intly de- dbtnct^" '"°"'""'" " '^"^^^'' ^''"^ ^""^ ''■°'''"" '^^^'^ Thorpe felt the quick moisture rush to his eyes ii^jre was something inexpressibly touching in those simple words as Big Junko uttered them. And wiien you are married," he asked, " what are Jiverf"'"^ *° "^"^^ ^'^ ^°" ^°'"^ ''' ^^"^y ^" ^« i, MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART lANSI and ISO TEST CHART No 2) 1.0 I.I 1.25 ^ as, 2.5 2.2 II 2.0 1.8 1.6 ^ APPLIED IM/IGE Inc ^^ 1653 East Main Street T^ Rochester, New ^orU 14609 USA 1^= (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone =^ (716) 288 - 5989 - Vat nm 362 THE BLAZED TRAIL h " No, I'm goin' to clear a farm. The woman &h< says that's the thing to do. 1 Ukc the river, too. Bu: you bet wIkii Carrie says a thing, that's plenty gooc enough for liigjunko." " Suppose," suggested Thorpe, irresistibly impelle. towards the attempt, " suppose I should ofiCer you tv.< hundred dollars a month to stay on the river. Woul you stay ? " " Carrie don't like it," replied Junko. " Two hundred dollars is big wages," persistc- Thorpe. " It's twice what I give Radway." " I'd like to ask Carrie." " No, take it or leave it now." " Well, Carrie says she don't like it," answered tin riverman with a sigh. Thorpe looked at his companion fixedly. Some how the bestial countenance had taken on an attrac tion of its own. He remembered Big Junko as a wil beast when his passions were aroused, as a man who. honesty had been doubted. " You've changed, Junko," said he. " I know," said the big man. " 1 been a scalawai all right. I quit it. I don't know much, but Carr; she's smart, and I'm goin' to do what she says. _ Wlu 1 you get stuck on a good woman like Carrie, ]Mt Thorpe, you don't give much of a damn for anythini else. Sure! That's right I It's the biggest thing to] o' earth 1 " Here it was again, the opposing creed. And froii such a source. Thorpe's iron will contracted again. " A woman is no excuse for a man's neglecting hi work," he snapped. " Shorely not," agreed Junko serenely. " I aim t' finish out my time all right, Mr. Thorpe. Don't yoi worry none about that. I done my best for yoi And," went on the riverman in the expansion of tlii unwonted confidence with his employer, " I'd like t 7-^.m mZmmf^^L32 Tfl THE BLAZED TRAIL 363 rise to remark that you're the best boss I ever had, and we boys wants to stay with her till there's skating 'n hell! " " All riglit," murmured Tho-pe indifferently. His momentary interest had left him. Acrain the reactionary weariness drar:,f;r-d at his feet. Suddenly the remaining half mile to town seemed very long indeed. ii|i( * " ! I- If 5 Chapter LIII TT TALLAGE CARPENTER and Hamilton, m/§/^ the journalist, seated ...jainst the sun- r F warmed bench of Mrs. Hathaway's board- ing-house, commented on the band as it stumbled in to the wash-room. " Those men don't know how b'g they are," re- marked the journalist. " That's the way with most big men. And that man Thorpe belongs to another age. I'd like to get him to telling his experiences; he'd be a gold mine to me." " And would require about as much trouble to • work,' " laughed Wallace. " He won't talk." " That's generally the trouble, confound 'em," sighed Hamilton. " The fellows who can talk haven't anything to say ; and those who have something to tell are dumb as oysters. I've got him in though." He spread one of a roll of papers on his knees. " I got a set of duplicates for you. Thought you might like to keep them. The office tells me," he concluded mod- estly, " that they are attracting lots of attention, but are looked upon as being a rather clever sort of fic- tion." Wallace picked up the sheet. Hi'"- eye was at once met by the heading, " ' So long, boys,' " in letters a half inch in height, and immediately underneath in smaller type, " said Jimmy Powers, and threw his hat in the face of death." " It's all there," explained the journalist, " — the jam and the break, and all this magnificent struggle afterwards. It makes a great yarn. I feel tempted 364 THE BLAZED TRAIL \('S scmetimes to help it out a little — artistically, you know — but of course that wouldn't 'lo. She'd' make a ripping yarn, tliou.G:h, if I could pet up some motive outside mere tra^'e rivalry for the l)lowing up of those dams. That would just round it ofT." Wallace Carpenter was about to reply that such a motive actually existed, wl.cn the conversation was interrupted by the approach of Thorpe and Big Junko. The former looked twcntv vears older after his winter His eye was dull, his shoulders drooped, his gait was melastic. The whole bearing of the man was that of one weary to the bone. ."j've got something here to show you, Harry," cried Wallace Carpenter, waving one of the papers. It was a great drive and here's something to remem- ber It by." "/^'l /iglit. Wallace, by and by," replied Thorpe dully. " I m dead. I'm going to turn in for a while. I need sleep more than anything else. I can't think now.'' He passed through the little passage into the " par- lor bed-room," which Mrs. Hathaway always kept m readmess for members of the firm. ' There he fell heavily asleep almost before his body had met the bed. In the long dining room the rivermen consumed a belated dinner. They had no comments to make. It was over. The two on the veranda smoked. To the right, at the end of the sawdust street, the mill sang its varying and lulling keys. The odor of fresh-sawed pine per- fumed the air. Not a hundred yards away the river slipped silently to the distant blue Superior, escaping between the slanting stone-filled cribs which held back the logs. Down the south and west the huge thunder- heads gathered and flashed and grumbled, as they had oone eveiy afternoon for days previous. i? I Ii ? I I; ' h ! i ■i- 36b THE BLAZED TRAIL "Queer thing:," commented Han.ilton finally, "these cold^strcaks in the air. They are just as distinct as thoup;h they had partitions around them." " Queer climate anyway," ap:rced Carpenter. Excepting always for the mill, the little settlement appeared asleep. The main booms were quite desert- ed. Not a sin,r:le figure, armed with its picturesf|U£ pike-pole, loomed athwart the distance. After awhile Hamilton noticed something. " Look here, Carpenter," said he, " what's happen- ing out there ? Have some of your confounded lo:::s smik, or what? There don t seem to be near so mar.v of them somehow." " No, it isn t that," proffered Carpenter after a mo- ment's scrutiny, " there are just as many logs, but tlu} are getting separated a little so you can see the opor water between them." " Guess you're right. Say, look here, I believe thai the river is rising! " " Nonsense, we haven't had any rain." "She's rising just the same. I'll tell you how ] know; yon see that spile over there near the let; hand crib? Well., I sat on the boom this mornin: watching the crew, and I whittled the spile with va] knife — you can see the marks from here. I cut tlu thing about two feet above the water. Look at ii now." " She's pretty near the water line, that's right," ad mitted Carpent r. " I should tiiink that might make the boys Jiof.' commented Hamilton. " If they'd known this wa coming, they needn't have hustled so to get the driv' down." " That's so," Wallace agreed. About an hour later the younger man in his tur! made a discovery. ^ " She's been rising right along," he submitted ;ri««»lR««». THE blazi:d trail 367 T 1 .^ ,1 f ""■' "^^1''^'".^''^ ^^■''itc'-. and. ,lo vou know. I !^c.K-N . the 1, -p are be^iunm^ lo feel ,t. See. they've c u e,l t,p the lilUe upenm^s between them, and they arcjKsuin.ng to croud duu.i to the lower ^nd of the ^nvV'r ''•''"''■"',■'"-■''';''- ''^""^ ^'"^ business." haz- arcad the journah>t -but by the mere look of the tlnn,^ I .hottld think there was a .t,n,od deal of pre s e on tJ>at same louer end. liy J,ve. look iher'i- See hose lo^s up.endr 1 believe youVe ^oing to hav^^a Ja'n n,L,iit here m vour own bo )m>- ' '" of h' j!;;r^l;;; i^.^' ""'"'"' ^^■="'^«- ■■ ^ "-" '-"d ]] You'd better let someone know " I hate to bother Ilany or any of the rivcrmen forci:'4'"'he'nT ^" ^'-^^ ""' ''^"'^" - h^- -^ -"•' lorcn.an — nc il know. Mason canic to the edge of the high trestle and took UllL lOOK. '• Jumping f^sh-hooks ! " he cried. •* Why, the river's up si.K n,ehes and still a conn.,'! Here you Tom •» he cahed to one of the yard hands, " you tell Solly 'to h, .? ?'" ?," 'Y' V •? ^°"'^'^^ '^''''^'' ^"^ h^ve Dave lll^^t!e together his driver crew." ;; \\ hat you going to do? " asked Wallace forei nn ' '° fr'^P,'''" '''' ''^''°"^^'" ^-^P'^in^'^ the mill cr[h.s.'' ' "" '""''' ^'"" ^^'^^^ between the II Is there any danger? " "Oh no, th:> river would have to rise a good deal .Rhcr than she is now to nuake current efo"^h?o hurt Ihey ve had a hard rain ui) above This w 1 1 go down in a few hours." -miswUI . After a time the tug puffed up to the booms escort- ng the pile driver. The latter towed a liule raft of ong sharpened piles, which it at once began to ive m such positions as would most citcctuali; strengh^n i 1 1 1 i" , i i, h i , f T"*^ i 1 _! : ! i : 1 'M K i f 1 11^ Jl 3O8 THE BLAZED TRAIL the booms. In the meantime the thunrler-heads harl slyly climbed the heavens, so that a sudden deluge of rain surprised the workmen. For an hour it poured down in torrents ; then settled to a steady gray beat. Immediately the aspect had changed. The distant rise of land was veiled ; the brown expanse of logs became shppery and glistening; the river below the booms was picked into staccato points by the drops; distant Superior turned lead color and seemed to tumble strangely athwart the horizon. Sofiy,'the tug captain, looked at his mooring hawsers and then at the nearest crib. " She's riz two inches in th' las' two hours," he an- nounced, " and she's runnin' like a mill race." Solly was a typical north-country tug captain, short and broad, vvith a brown, clear face, and the steadiest and calmest of steel-blue eyes. " When she begins to feci th' pressure behind," he went on, " there's goin' to be trouble." Towards dusk she began to feel that pressure. Through the rainy twilight the logs could be seen rais- ing their ghostly arms of protest. Slowly, without tumult, the jam formed. In the van the logs crossed silently ; in the rear they pressed in, were sucked undet in the swift water, and came to rest at the bottom the river. The current of the river began to protest, pressing its hydraulics through the narrowing crevices The situation demanded attention. A breeze began to pull ofif shore in the body of rain Little by little it increased, sending the water by in gusts, ruffling the already hurrying river into greatci haste, raising far from the shore dimly perceivcc white-caps. Between the roaring of the wind, the dasi of rain, and ihe rush of the stream, men had to shout tc make themselves heard. " Guess vou'd better lout out the boss," screamet Solly to Wallace Carpenter ; " this damn water's coni' ■.I, •^•) • ■:■■. ■ - ^^^^tT^ •^♦TVT-^^ffwim_ THE BLAZED TRAIL 369 In up an inch an hour ri,-Iit alon^. When she backs up once. shc-II pi,sh this jam out Turc." VVallacc ran to the boardin- liuuse and roused his partner fr, ,,n a heavy sleep. The latter undersfood the tho n" ' '''''''\ ^^ '"'" ^•■^•■^^'"- '^^ explained to the v.,nn-or man wherein lav the dan^^T 1 the jam breaks once," said he, " notliincr top of errd i '"'' "',^''" '^""^^'^ ^^'''^^e. Once cat- tere 1 t is practically a total loss. The salvaizc wou dn't pay the price of the lumber." ^ 1 hey felt blindly throucrh the rain in the direction of he .<^hts on the tu,:^ an•- a mnl.in?!" "j?" f ''T'"^ '"'^'^ ^ ^^°™ ^^ profanity and a nn 1 itude of kicks, his steel-blue eves blazing Iheres nothing for it but to get the bovs nut again." said Tim ; " I kinder hate to do it " ^ Lut when the Fighting Forty, half asleep but daunt- less, took charge of the driver, a caiastrophe made it- i.WM^ i ♦ I , i'li i ' H 370 THE BLAZED TRAIL self known. One of the ejected men had tripped the lifting chain of the hammer after another had knocked away the heavy preventing block, and so the hammer had fallen into the river and was lost. None other was to be had. The pile driver was useless. A dozen men were at once despatched for cables, chains, and wire ropes from the supply at the ware- house. " I'd like to have those whelps here," cried Shearer, " l\\ throw them under the jam." " It's part of the same trick," said Thorpe grimly: " those fellows have their men everywhere among us I 'lon't know whom to trust." " You think it's Morrison & Daly?" queried Car- penter astonished. " Think ? I know it. They know as well as you 01 I that if we save these logs, -ve'll win out in the stocl exchange; and they're not such foo's as to let us sav< them if it can be helped. I have a score to settle with those fellows ; and when I get through with this thing I'll settle it all right." " What arc you going to do now? " " The only thing there is to bo don^ We'll string heavy booms, chained together, between 'le cribs, anc then trust to heaven they'll hold. I think we can hole the jam. The water will begin to flow over the banl before long, so there won't be much increase of press ure over what we have now ; and as there won't b( any shock to withstand, I think our heavy booms wil do the business." He turned to direct the boring of some long boon logs in preparation for the chains. Suddenly h whirled again to Wallace with so strange an expres sion in his face that the young man almost cried out The uncertain light of the lanterns showed dimly th streaks of rain across his countenance, and his eyi flared with a look almost of panic. ■-^i < >',./-tc THE BLAZED TRAIL 371 •• FooA vf^'I'T\* ?^ 'y" ^' ^^''^ '" ^ I^^v voice. loo« J . ' ""^ ' ^ ^°" ^ see how I mis.c<] it Wall " No°"wl?at" ?' ^'^^ ^''°^^ ^'^^''^ -i''"^>- next v^'- ^^^^o, what -Jo you mean?" gasped the younger <^^ZrT^'''- /'"''y^ "'''''°" feet of logs up river in Sadler & Smuh s dnve. Don't you see wfat they U " No, I don't believe " in^' -Lml ?l!,?f " '^ ""■'"■ ''"'' °"" *« ""^ ">«■■ is boom- that no power on earth can stop it " ^ ^'' '° 1 dun t imagine they'd tliink of doine that " ^'Pr^ ^\^''^^e by way of assurance. ^ ""^ VVcIl, the " " I've got to send a man up there right awav Per queried, struck with a new idea " hcW ]nL 7^' ^ been dri' piles ? " ^"^ ^'^^^ ^O" ;;Sinc -oout three o'clock." lie cast Ijis eye rapidly over the men. i t J I i I 5 • i t i ! 37^ THE BLAZED TRAIL the Gunther track to run lines. Come on; we'll see." With infinite dilTiculty and caution, they rcaciKcl 'he shore. Across the {,'lcaming logs >hune (hmly the lan- terns at the scene of work. gho.-.tly llirough liie rain. Dcyond, on citlu-r side, lay impenetrable drenched darkness, racked hy the wind. " / wouldn't want to tackle it," panted Thorpe. " If it wasn't for that cursed tote road hetwcen Sadler's and Daly's, I wouldn't worry. It's just too easy for thnn." Behind them the jam cracked and shrieked and groaned. Occasionally was heard, hcneatii the sharper noises, a dull boom, as' one of the heavy liml)ers forced by the pressure from its resting place, shot into the air, and fell back on the bristling surface. Andrews had left that niorninjj. " Tim Shearer might do it," suggested Thorpe, " but I hate to spare him." He picked his rille from its rack and thrust the mag- azine full of cartridges. " Come on, W allace," said he, " we'll hunt him up." They stepped again into the shriek and roar of the storm, bending their 1 ads to its power, but indiffer- ent in the already drenched condition of their clothing, to the rain. The saw-dust street was saturated like a sponge. They could feel the quick wa'cr rise about the pressure at their feet. From the invisible houses they heanl a steady monotone of llowiiig from the roofs, h'ar ahead, dim in the mist, sprayed the light of lant' us. Si.w nly Thorpe felt a touch on his arm. Faintly he perceive- .is ritle into the Indian's hands. X iL llie laMcr listened in silence and stoliditv. then turned, and witlunit a word departed swihiy'in the daikness. The two white men stood a minute atten- tive. Not* rr was to t e heard but the steady beat of rain and tlie roarinijof the wind. Near tlie t)ank of the river tliey encountered a man, visible 0!ilv as an uncertain black on Ime as^ainst the glow of the lanterns beyond. Thorpe, stopping him, found Big Junko. " This is no time to quit," said Thorpe, sharply. " I aint quittin'," replied Big Junko. " Where are you going, then .'' " _ Junko was partially and stammeringly unrespon- sive. " Looks bad," commented Thorpe. You'd better get back to your job." ** Yes," agreed Junko helplessly. Ii. the momentary slack tide of work, the giant had conceived the idea of searching out the driver crew for purposes of pugilis- tic vengeance. Thorpe's suspicions stung hmi, but his simple mind could see no direct way to explanation. All night long in the chill of a spring rain and wind- storm the Fighting Forty and certain of the mill crew gave themselves to the labor of connecting the slant- ing stone cribs so strongly, by means of heavy timbers chained end to end, that the pressure of a break in the jam might not sweep aside the defenses. Wallace Carpenter, Shorty, the chcre-boy, and Anderson, the 373 9 1 ! t h Mrh i:!! 374 THE BLAZED TRAIL barn-boss, picked a dangerous passage back and forth carrying pails of red-hot coffee which Mrs. Hathaway constantly prepared. The cold water numbed the men's hands. With dilTicully could they manipulate the heavy chains through the auger lules; with pain they twisted knots, bored holes. They did not com- plain. Behind them the jam quivered, perilously near the bursting point. From it shrieked aloud the demons of pressure. Steadily the river rose, an inch an hour. The key might snap at any given moment, — they could not tell, — and with the rush they knew very well that themselves, the tug, and the disabled pile- driver would be swept from existence. The worst of it was that the blackness shrouded their experience into uselessness; they were utterly unable to tell by the ordinary visual symptoms how near the jam might be to collapse. However, they persisted, as the old-tin riverman always does, so that when dawn appea.ed the barrier was continuous and assured. Although the pressure of the river had already forced the logs against the de- fenses, the latter held the strain well. The storm had settled into its gait. Overhead the sky was filled with gray, beneath which darker scuds flew across the zenith before a howling southwest wind. Out in the clear river one could hardly stand upright against the gusts. In the fan of many direc- tions furious squalls swept over the open water below the booms, and an eager boiling current rushed to the lake. Thorpe now gave orders that the tug and driver should take shelter. A few moments later he ex- pressed himself as satisfied. The dripping crew, their harsh faces gray in the half-light, picked their way to the shore. In the darkness of that long night's work no man knew his neighbor. Alen from therivcr, men from the V. :!*... ■' THE BLAZED TRAIL 375 mill, men from the yard all worked side by side Thus inuuulual dressed in a laded mackinaw and a limn slouch hat winch he wore pulled over his eves l7s A a nst the racing current the crew held the ends of the iK.avy booms while he fastened them together He worked well, but seemed slow. Threat rncs Shearer hustled him on after the others had finished exammmg closely the work that had been done On The men straggled to shore, the voung fellow fust red out, haugmg Ins head and drat;ging his feet c t,"e i^r^fthos" ';-^^""^^-';-- cuTorid cloS 1 " ^^\. ^^'?^^ ^^''10 prccederl him, and the town onned""c sth'".'r""' 'f -'^<'.-'y 'bccam "trans- lurmca. Lasting a keen glance right and left to be les'slvt -t' ""^'^TT'- ^'' t^'-^-l'and hurded reck! h. Lif ?y^^^^''f '"«:^ to the center booms. There he knelt and busied himself with the chains ul h\i ^'fc^^^?P'"og'-«sion over the jam he'so blended Uh the mornmg shadows as to seem one of them and 1 e wouhl have escaped quite unnoticed had not a sud den shiltmg of the logs under in's feet eomne° ed him o rise for a moment to his full lieight. So WallZ Carpenter, passing from his bedrooim along the pocf uylie dining room, became aware of the man on the His first thought was that something demanding |nstant attention had happened to the^ bor 4 t. re ore ran at once to the man's assistance readvtl liclp him personally or to call other aid as the exi^ -cy demanded. Owing to the precarious nature S the passage, he could not see !)ev irent strong ; Big Junko had no crevice by which to a ^ure his hold. In another moment he would be torn away. " Let go and swim I " shouted Thorpe. " I can't swim," replied Junko in so low a voice as to he scarcely audible. For a moment Thorpe stared at him. " Tell Carrie," said Big Junko. Then there beneath the swirling gray sky, under the frowning jam, in the midst of flood w..tcrs, Thorpe had his second great Moment of Decision. He did not pause to weigh reasons or chances, to discuss with himself expediency, or the moralities of failure. His actions were foreordained, mechanical. All at once the great forces which the winter had been bringing to power, crystallized into something bigi^er than him- self or his ideas. The trail lay before him ; there was no choice. Now clearly, with no shadow of doubt, he took the other view : There could be nothing better than Love. Men, their works, their deeds were little things. Suc- cess was a little thing ; the opinion of men a little thmg. Instantly he felt t;he truth of it. . , , , • And here was Love in danger. That it held its moment's habitation in clay of the coarser mould had nothing to do with the great elemental truth of it. For the first time in his life Thorpe felt the full crushing power of an abstraction. Without thought, instinct- ively, he threw before :ie necessity of the moment all that was lesser. It was the triumph of what was real in the man over that which environment., alienation, difficulties had raised up within him. At Big Junko's words, Thorpe raised his hammer and with one mighty blow severed the chains whicl bound the ends of the booms across the opening. The free end of one of the poles immediately swung dowr THE BLAZED TRAIL 381 with the current in the direction of Big Junko. Thorpe like a cat ran to the end of the boom, seized the giant by the collar, and dragged him througli the water to safety. " Run ! " he shouted. " Run fcr your life ! " The Uvo started desperately back, skirting the edge of the logs which now the very seconds alone seemed to hold back. They were drenched and blinded with spray, deafened with the crash of timbers settling to the leap. The men on shore could no longer see them for the smother. The great crush of logs^iad actually begun its first majestic sliding motion when at last they emerged to safety. At first a few of the loose timbers found the opening shpping quietly through with the current; then more ' finally the front of the jam dove forward ; and an in- stant later the smooth, swift motion had gained its inipetus and was sweeping the entire drive down througl. the gap. Rr .k after rank, like soldiers charging, they ran. The great fierce wind caught them up ahead of the cur- rent. In a moiuent the open ri, er was full of logs jost- hng eagerly onward. Then sudd'enlv, far out above the uneven tossing skyline of Superior, the strange northern " loom," or mirage, threw the specters of thousands of restless timbers rising and falling on the bosom of the lake. k \ni h ■ . 1 if ■. ; ; , 1 , i 1^ Chanter LVI rHEY stood and watclicl tlictn po. " Oh, the great man ! Uh, the great man ! ' murmured the writer, fascuiatcd. The grandeur of the sacriiice had struck then- dumb. Tliey did not understand the motives beneall it all, but the fact was patent. Big Junko broke dowi and sobbed. After a time the stream of logs through the ga[ slackened. In a moment more, save for the incvital)!} stranded few, the boons were empty. A deep sigl went up from the attentive multitude. " She's gone! " said one man, with the emphasis o a novel discovery ; and groaned. Then the awe broke from about their minds, anr they spoke many opinions and speculations. Thorjii had disappeared. They respected his emotion and du not follow him. " It was just plain damn foolishness; — but it wa: great ! " said Shearer. " That no-account jackass of : Big Junko ain't worth as much per thousand feet a good white pi;ie." Then they noticed a group of men gathering abou the office steps, and on it someone talking. Collins the bookkeeper, was making a speech. Collins was a little hatchet-faced man, with straight lank hair, nearsighted eyes, a timid, order-loving dis position, and a great suitability for his profession, lb was accurate, unemotional, and valuable. All hi actions were as dry as the saw-dust in the burner No one had ever seen him excited. But he wa 3S2 THE BLAZED TRAIL 383 human; anci nmy his knowledge of the Company-s affairs showed him the dramatic contrast. Hckncu'l He knew that the property of the firm had been mortgaged to the last dollar in order to assist cxpan- sion so that not another cent could be borrowed to tide over present difficulty. He knew that the notes pr sixty thousand dollars covering the loan to Wal- lace Carpenter came due in three months; he knew from the long table of statistics which he was eternally preparing and comparing that the season's cut should have netted a profit of two hundred thousand dollars -enough to pay the interest on the mortgages, to ake up the notes, and to furnish a working capital for the ensuing year. These things he knew in the strange concrete arithmetical manner of t.ic routine book- keeper. Other men saw a desperate phase of firm rivalry; he saw a struggle to the uttermost. Other men cheered a rescue : he thrilled over the magnificent gesture of the Gamoler scattering his stake in largesse to Death. ** It was the simple turning of the hand from full breathed prosperity to lifeless failure. His view was the inverse of his master's. To Ihorpe It had suddenly become a very little thmg in contrast to the great, sweet elemental truth that the dream girl had enunciated. To Collins the affair was miles vaster than the widest scope of his own narrow lite. The firm could not take up its note" when they came due ; It could noi pay the inlertst on the mort2a£res which would now be foreclosed ; it could not even pay m full the men who had worked for it — that would come under a court's adjudication. He had therefore watched Thorpe's desperate sally to mend the weakened chain, in all the suspense of a man whose entire universe is in the keeping of the Chance mouiccL It must be remembered that at bo^ ? 5 ^1 t u It » 384 THE BLAZED TRAIL t^ torn, below the outer consciousness, Thorpe's final de- cision had already grown to maturity. On the otluT hand, no other thought than that of accomplishment had even entered the little bookkeeper's head. The rescue and all that it had meant had hit him like a stroke of apoplexy, and Iiis thin emotions hail curdled to hysteria. Full of the idea he appeared before the men. With rapid, almost incoherent speech he poured \t out to them. Professional caution and secrecy were forgotten. Wallace Carpenter attempted 10 push through the ring for the purpose of stopping him. A gigantic riverman kindly but firmly held him back. ** 1 guess it's just as well we hears this," said the latter. It all came out — the loan to Carpenter, with a hmt at the motive : the machinations of the rival firm op the Board of Trade ; the notes, the mortgages, the neces- sity of a big season's cut ; the reasons the rival firm had for wishing to prevent that cut from arriving at the market ; the desperate and varied means they had em- ployed. The men hstened silent. Hamilton, his eyes glowing like coals, drank in every word. Here was the master motive he had sought; here was the story great to his hand ! " That's what we ought to get," cried Collins, almost weeping, " and now we've gone and bust, just because that infernal river-hog had to fall oxi a boom. Uy God, it's a shame! Those scalawags have done us after all!" Out from the shadows of the woods stole Injin Charley. The whole bearing and aspect of the man had changed. His eye gleamed with a distant far- seeing fire of its own, which took no account of any- thing but some remote vision. He stole along almost furtively, but with a proud upright carriage of hi: oeck, a backward tilt of his fine head, a distention oJ ■<».sA^ «.*,*_ -n- THE BLAZED TRAIL 385 pride an.l .sfalthnu-ss. No one saw him Sudtlcnly tslrColL,":"''' '''■" ^'"-^P '"^ '"°""'^^^ ^"^ ^'^-P^ m h s native tonp^uc, and with a sudden jrcsturc held out before them — a scalp h^=>^»n. uciu fo7^momen^' Tr'^'Y''"' "? '^'', *'''"^ ^Pn^^^'^ ^'^^'^ m.t h\, ] , "' /'^- ' °^ '"'''''""- ^^■^^'■^' 'o".^ since past, had been closed aw.y between the pa^es of for- gotten h.stor,es. and yet here again bcfotc them was the tlm- m all ,ts hvins: imrrur. Then a growl arose The human animal had tasted blood h.n ^V?""^ ''•'''' ''■'"'-' ^'''■''" \vrongs mounted to their heads, fhey remembered the.r dead comrades They r memberec th. heart-breaking days and nights o to.1 they had endnanl on account of this man and his asso- c a es J hey remembered the words of C< Mins. the httle bookkeeper. They hated. They shook their fists across the skies. They tmned and' with on a - fed to Shiil '' M ^"Ii '''^' '■''''■°^'' right-of-way which & Daly ^' ^''''" ^^"^'■^"cJ ^y Morrison The railroad lay for a mile straight through a thick tamarack swamp, then over a nearly treeless cranberry plain. 1 he tamarack was a screen between the two uT: .^'''". ''^'^-^^-^y tlirough the swamp. Red- from It. and began to fashion c rude mask. ^ .. J"^^ ^l ^\^11 they don't recognize us," said lie. Somebody in town will give us away," suggested Shorty, the chore-boy. ^"i,i,t.biea "No. they won't ; they're all here," assured Kcrlie It was true. Except fur tlic women ai.d children. uho were not yet about, the entire village had assem- S H^ol'ed a'or "'b-'-°' '' '" «^^-^^^'-- -^ ^^e ,..ii„, nooD.ea aiOnji bicuuiicsaiy ou ins, rheumatic I i if! 1 I I , .l flt». 1 ' if I 386 THE BLAZED TRAIL letrs In a moment the masks were fitted. In a mo- ment more the little band had c-nuTK-fd from the shel- ter . f thi- swamp, and so came into full view of its ob- ieciive ixnnt. ... , , Shiiv'Icvillc consisted of a hv^ mill: the yards, now ncailv'cmntv of lumber; the lar^-e frame boarding- house ; the office ; the stable ; a store ; two saloons ; and a dozen dwellin-s. The party at once hxed its eyes on this collection of build.n^s. and truducd on doun the risht-of-wav with unhastenint,' primness. Their approach was not unobserved. Ua y saw them; and 15aker. his foreman, saw them. Ihc two at once went f< irth to ort^nmize opposition. \\ len the atta-kiuR party reached the mill-yard, it found the boss and the foreman standing alone on the sawdust, re- volvers drawn. Dalv traced a line with his toe. ^ " The first man that crosses that line gets it, aaul nc They knew he meant what he saiu. An instant tjause ensued, while the big man and the little face^ a mob. Daly's rivcrnien were still on drive. 11 knew the mill men loo well to depend on them Truth to tell, the possibility of such a raid as this ha. not occurred to him ; for the simple reason that he di- not anticipate the discovery of his complicity with th forces of nature. Skillfullv carried out, the plan wa a » .-A ; J tun ( b4 . "ff» !?■' ff? ' i - 1 : '" 1 ^ I"' il ; h 388 THE BLAZED TRAIL It was no longer a question of killing. A number broke into the store, and shortly emerged, bearing pails ot kerosene with which they deluged the slabs on the windward side of the mill. The llanies caught the structure instantly. A thousand sparks, borne by the off-shore breeze, fasteneil like so many stinging insects on the lumber in the yard. It burned as dried balsam thrown on a camp fire. The heat of it drove the onlookers far back in the vil- lage, where in silence they watched the destruction. From behind locked doors the inhabitants watched with them. The billow of white smoke filled the northern sky. A whirl of gray wood ashes, light as air, floated on and ever on over Superior. The site of the mill, the squares where the piles of lumber had stood, glowed incandescence over which already a white film was forming. Daly and his man were slapped and cuffed hither and thither at the men's w^ill. Their faces bled, their bodies ached as one bruise. " That squares us," said the men. " If we can't cut this year, neither kin you. It's up I •■ you now ! " Then, like a destroying horde of locusts, they gutted the office and the store, smashing what they could not carry to the fire. The dwellings and saloons they did not disturb. Finally, about noon, they kicked their two prisoners into tlie river, and took their way strag- glingly back along the right-of-way. " I surmise we took tliat town apart some! " re- marked Shorty with satisfaction. " I should rise to remark," replied Kerlie. Big Junko said nothing, but his cavernous little animal eyes glowed with satisfaction. He had been the first to lay hands on Daly : he had helped to carry the pe- troleum ; he had struck the first match; he hud even administered the final kick. r^ ».: m^m. THE BLAZED TRAIL 389 At the boarding-house they found Wallace Carpen- ter and ilamilton seated on the veranda. It was now afternoon. The wind had abated somewhat, and the sun was strug;gling with the still flying scuds. ^ "Hello, boys," said Wallace, " been for a little walk in the woods ? " ]] Yes, sir," replied Jack Hyland, " we " « 17'^ . ^^^^-^^ "°* ^^^^'" interrupted Wallace. There s quite a fire over east. I suppose you haven't noticed it." Hyland looked gravely eastward. " Sure 'nough ! " said he. "Better get some grub," suggested Wallace. After the men had gone in, he turned to the Jour- nalist. •• " Hamilton," he began, " write all you know about the drive, and the break, and the rescue, but as to the burning of the mill " The other held out his hand. " Good," said Wallace offering his own. And that was as far as the famous Shingleville raid ever got. Daly did his best to collect even circum- stantial evidence against the participants, but in vain. He could not even get anyone to sav that a single mem- ber of the village of Carpenter had absented himself from town that morning. This might have been from loyalty, or it might have been from fear of the ven- geance the Fighting Forty would surely visit on a traitor. Probably it was a combination of both. The fact remains, however, that Daly never knew surely of but one man implicated in the destruction of his plant. That man was Injin Charley, but Injin Char- ley promptly disappeared. After an interval, Tim Shearer, Radway and Kerlie came out again. "^ Where's the boss ? " asked Shearer. "I don't know, Tim," replied Wallace seriously. fM PW P I '!''■ 1 r; .1 ' i If < 390 THE BLAZED TRAIL " I've looked everywhere. He's gone. He must have been all cut up. I think he went out in the woods to get over it. I am not worrying. Harry has lots of sense. He'll come in about dark." "Sure!" said Tim. "How about the boy's stakes?" queried Radway. " I hear this is a bad smash for the firm." " We'll see that the men get their wages all right," replied Carpenter, a little disappointed that such a question should be asked at such a time. " All right," rejoined the contractor. " We're all going to need our money this summer." Chapter LVII rHORPE walked through the silent group of men without seeing them. He had no thought for what he had done, but for the triumphant discovery he had made in spite of himself. This he saw at once as something to glory in and as a duty to be fulfilled. It was then about si.x o'clock in the morning. Ihorpe passed the boarding-house, the store, and the office, to take himself as far as the little open shed that served the primitive town as a railway station. There ne set the semaphore to Hag the east-bcund train from Duluth. At SIX thirty-two, the train happening on time, he climbed aboard. He dropped heavily into a seat and stared straight in front of him until the con- ductor had spoken to him twice. " Where to, Air. Thorpe ? " he asked. The latter gazed at him uncomprehendingly. u 2^^ ' .^fackinaw City," he replied at last. How re things going up your way ? " inquired the conductor by way of conversation ;. hile he made out the pay-slip. "Good 1 " responded Thorpe mechanically. The act of paying for his fare brought to his con- sciousness that he had but a little over ten dollars 'vith him. He thrust the change back into his pocket, and took up his contemplation of nothing. The river water dripped slowly from his " cork " boots to form a pool on the car floor. The heavv wool of his short driving trousers steamed in the car's warmth. His shoulders dried in a little cloud of vapor. He noticed none of 391 ' i U I f 'm ■•: ^ni J" 1 m ■A '■ . 4 I h i ki ''■.'. 39^ THE BLAZED TRAIL these things, but stared ahead, his gaze vacant, the bronze of his face set in the lines of a brown study, his strong capable hands hanging purposeless between his knees. The ride to Mackinaw Ciiy was six hours long, and the train in addition lost some ninety minutes ; but in all this distance Thorpe never altered his pose nor his fixed attitude of attention to some inner voice. The car-ferry finally landed them on the southern peninsula. Thoipe descended at Mackinaw City to find that the noon train had gone. He ate a lunch at the hotel, — borrowed a hundred dollars from the agent of Louis Sands, a lumberman of his acquaint- ance ; and seated himself ri^jidly in the httle waiting room, there to remain until the nine-twenty that night. When the cars were backed down from th iding, he boarded the sleeper. In the doorway stood a disap- proving colored porter. •' Yo'U fin' the smokin' cah up fo wu d, suh, said the latter, firmly barring the way. *• U's ^-nerally forward," answered Thorpe. " This yeah's th' sleepah," protested the functionary. *' You pays extry." " I am aware of it," replied Thorpe curtly. Uive me a lower." . . " Yessah!" acquiesced the darkey, giving way, but still in doubt. He followed Thorpe curiously, peering into the smoking room on him from time to time. A little after twelve his patience gave out. The stolid gloomy man of lower six seemed to intend sitting up all night. . J " Yo berth is ready, sah," he dehcately suggested. Thorpe arose obediently, walked to lower six, and, without undressing, threw himself on the bed. After- wards the porter, in conscientious discharge of his duty, looked diligently beneath the seat for boots to polish. Happening to glance up, after fruitless search, THE BLAZED TRAIL 393 he discovered the boots still adorning the feet of their owner. ^ " Well, for th' latids sake ! " ejaculated the scandal- ized negro, beating a hasty retreat. He was still more scandalized when, the following noon, his strange fare brushed by him without bestow- ing the expected tip. Thorpe descended at Twelfth Street in Chicago without any very clear notion of where he was going. For a moment he faced the long park-like expanse of the lake front, then turned sharp to his left and picked his way south up the interminable reaches of Michigan Avenue. He did this without any conscious motive, — mainly because the reaches seemed interminable, and he proved the need of walking. Block after block he clicked along, the caulks of his boots striking fire from the pavement. Some people stared at him a lit- tle curiously. Others merely glanced in his direction, attracted more by the expression of his face than the peculiarity of his dress. At that time rivermen were not an uncommon sight along the water front. After an interval he seemed to have left the smoke and dirt behind. The street became quieter. Board- ing-houses and tailors' shops ceased. Here and there appeared a bit of lawn, shrubbery, flowers. The resi- dences established an uptown crescendo of magnifi- cence. Policemen seemed trimmer, better-gloved. Occasionally he might have noticed in front of one of the sandstone piles, a besilvered pair champing before a stylish vehicle. By and by he came to himself to find that he was staring at the deep-carved lettering in a stone horse-block before a large dwelling. His mind took the letters in one after the other, per- ceiving them plainly before it accorded them recogni- tion. Finally he had completed the word Farrand. He whirled sharp on his heel, mounted the broad White stone steps, and rang the bell. k ill l\ m ! ■1 T' 394 THE BLAZLD TRAIL It was answered almost immediately by r. clean- shaven, portly and dignified man with the most impas- sive countenance in the world. This man looked upon Thorpe with lofty disapproval. " Is Miss Hilda Farrand at home? " he asked. " I cannot say," replied the man. " If you will step to the back door, I will ascertain." " The flowers will do. Now sec that the south room is ready, Annie," floated a voice from within. Without a v.'ord, but with a deadly earnestness, Thorpe reached forward, seized the astonished servant by the collar, yanked him bodily outside the door, stepped inside, and strode across the hall toward a closed portiere whence had come the voice. The riverman's long spikes cut little triangular pieces from the hardwood floor. Thorpe did not notice that. He thrust aside the portiere. Before him he saw a young and beautiful girl. She was seated, and her lap was filled with flowers. At his sudden apparition, her hands flew to her heart, and her lips slightly parted. For a second the two stood looking at each other, just as nearly a year before their eyes had crossed over the old pole trail. To Thorpe the girl seemed more beautiful than ever. She exceeded even his retrospective dreams of her, for the dream had persistently retained something of the quality of idealism which made the vision unreal, while the woman before him liad become human flesh and blood, adorable, to be desired. The red of this violent unexpected encounter rushed to her face, her bosom rose and fell in a fluttering catch for breath ; but her eyes were steady and inquiring. Then the butler pounced on Thorpe from behind with the intent to do great bodily harm. "Morris!" comn^anded Hilda sharply, "what are you doing? " The man cut short his heroism in confusion. Mm ,;^iUiia^Jm^bm THE BLAZED TRAIL 393 *' You m?y go," conclurled Hilda. Thorpe st(;o I! 396 THE BLAZED TRAIL " Oh, Harry," she breathed, with a sudden flash of insight, " you are a man born to be much misunder- stood." He held himself rigid, but in his veins was creeping a molten fire, and the fire was beginning to glow dully in his eye. Her whole being called him. His heart leaped, his breath came fast, his eyes swam. With almost hypnotic fascination the idea obsessed him — to kiss her lips, to iiress the soft body of the young girl, to tumble her liair down about her flower face. He had not come ior this. He tried to steady himself, and by an eflort that left him weak he suc- ceeded. Then a new flood of passion overcame him. In the later desire was nothing of the old humble ado- ration. It was elemental, real, almost a little savage. He wanted to seize her so fiercely as to hurt her. Something caught his throat, filled his lungs, weak- ened his knees. For a moment it seemed to him that he was going to faint. And still she stood there before him, saying nottiing, leaning slightly towards him, her red lips half parted, her eyes fixed almost wistfully on his face. " Go away ! " he whispered hoarsely at last. The voice was not his own. " Go away ! Go away ! " Suddenly she swayed to him. " Oh, Harry, Harry," she whispered, " must I tell you ? Don't you sccf " The flood broke through him. He seized her hungrily. He crushed her to him until she gasped ; he pressed his lips against hers until she all but cried out with the pain of it ; he ran his great brown hands bHndly through her hair until it came down about them both in a cloud of spun light. " Tell me ! " he whispered. " Tell me ! " "Oh! Oh !" she cried. "Please! What is it?" " I do not believe it,'' he murmured savagely. She drew herself from him with gentle dignity. THE BLAZED TRAIL 397 " I am not worthy to say it," she said soberly, " but I love you with all niy heart and soul ! " Then for the first and only time in his life Thorpe fell to weeping, while she, understanling, stood by and comforted him, Chapter LVIIl m.» u * rHE few moments of Thorpe's tea' '. eased the emotional strain under which, pcniaps uncon- sciously, he had been laboring for nearly a year past. The tenseness of his nerves relaxed. He was able to look on the things about him from a broader standpoint than that of the specialist, to front life witli saving humor. The deep breath after striving could at last be taken. In this new attitude there was nothing strenuous, nothing demanding haste ; only a deep glow of cotUent and happiness. He savored dehberalely the joy of a luxurious couch, rich hangings, polislied floor, sub- dued light, warmed atmosphere. He watched wiili soul-deep gratitude the soft girlish curves of Hilda •, body, the poise of her flower head, the pitjuant, half- wistful, half-childish set of her red lips, the clear star- like glimmer of her dusky eyes. It was all near to him ; his. " Kiss me, dear," he said. She swayed to him again, dcliciously graceful, deli- ciouslv unselfconscious, trusting, adorable. Already in the little nothingnesses of marrior, the trifies of mental and bodily attitude, she had assumed that faint trace of the maternal which to the observant tells so plainly that a woman has given herself to ;i man. She leaned her cheek against her hand, and her hand against his shoulder. " I have been reading a story lately," said she, " that has interested me very much. It was about a man 3^ mm THE BLAZKD TRAIL 399 V.'ho rr.iounccd all he held most dear to shield a friend. xes, sau! riiorpe. _ " Then he reiiuruiccd a" his most valuable posses- sions because a poor common man needed the sacri- nee. " Sounds like a medieval story," said he with uncon- scious iuimor, ^ "It iiappciied recently," rejoined Hilda. " I read it m the pa{)ers." _ " W cll. he blazed a good trail," was Thorpe's sitrh- ing comment. " Probably lie had his chance We don t all of us ^et that. Thinpfs go crooked and get tangled up. so we have to do she best we can. I don't beheve I'd have done it." " Oh, you are delicious! " she cried. After a time she said very humbly: " I want to beg your pardon lor misundcrsianding you and causing you so much suffering. I was very stupid, and didnl see why you couM not do as 1 wanted you to." ]] That is nothing to forgive. J acted like a fool." I have known about vou," she went on. " It has all come out in the Telegram. It has been very excit- ing, x'oor boy, you look tired." He straightened himself suddenlv. " I have forgot- f^"vr ^^^"^">' forgotten." he cried a little bitterly. ,) -' ^"^ ^ pauper, a bankrupt, I " ^^ " Harry," she intcirupted gentiv, but very firmly, you must not say what you were going to say I cannot allow it. Money came between us before.' It must not do so again. Am I not right, dear? " She smiled at him witli the lips of a child and the eyes of a woman. " Yes." he agreed after a struggle, " vou are right. Hut now I must be-in all over again. It will be a long time before I shall be able to claim you. I have mv way to make." "^ hi I I 400 THE BLAZED TRAIL U " Yes," said she diplomatically. " But you ! " he cried suddenly. " The papers re- mind mc. How about that Morton? " " What about him ? " asked the girl, astonished. " He is very happily enp:ap;cd." Thorpe's face slowly lilkd with blood. " You'll break the engagement at once," he com- manded a little harshly. " Why should I break the engagement? " demanded Hilda, eying him with some alarm. " I should think it was obvious enough." " But it isn't," she insisted. " W hy P " Thorpe was silent — as he always had l)cen in emer- gencies, and as he was destined always to be. His was not a nature of expression, but of action. A r- is always brought him, like a bull-dog, silently { . die grip. Hilda watched him puzzled, with bright eyes, like a squirrel. Her quick brain glanced here and there among the possibilities, seeking the explana- tion. Already she Knew better than to demand it of him. " You actually don't think he's engaged to me! " she burst out finally. " Isn't he? " asked Thorpe. " Why no, stupid ! He's engaged to Elizabeth Car- pf ter, Wallace's sister. Now n^hcre did you get that silly idea? " " I saw it in the paper." " And you believe all you see ! Why didn't you ask Wallace — but of course you wouldn't! Harry, you are the most incoherent dumb old brute I ever saw I I could shake you ! Why don't you say something oc- casionally when it's needed, instead of sitting dumb as a sphinx and getting into all sorts of trouble? But you never will. I know you. You dear old bear! Vou need a wife to interpret things for you. You MM THE BLAZED TRAIL 401 Kpcak a different lanjrunfje from most people." She said this l)ct\\ Tin lau},'I:in,i,' and crying ; fut of tl ic ridiculous u.^lIcsmioss of withholdi wccn a sense nt? a siiij^lc timely word, and a tender patijctic intuition of the suf- fe rin-, such a nature must enchire. In th e prospect of jhe uiture slie saw her use. It gladdened her and filled her with a serene happiness possible only to tl lose n who feel themselves a necessary aufj inte^-ral part i the lives of the ones they love. Dimly she perceived this truth. Dmily beyond it she piimpsed that other great truth of nature, that the human being is rarely completely efhcient alone, that in obedience to his greater use he must take to himself a mate before he can succeed. Suddenly she jumped to her feet with an exclama- tion. " Oh. Harry ! I'd forgotten utterly I " she cried in laughing consternatit)n. "I have a luncheon here at half-past one! It's almost that now. I must run and dress. Just look at me; just look! Yon did tilclt ! *' I'll wait here until the confounded thing is over " said Thorpe. ' ';Oh, no, you won't," replied Hilda decidedly. You are going down town right now and get some- thing to put on. 1 hen you are coming back here to Thorpe glanced in surprise at his driver's clothes, and his spiked boots. " Heavens and earth ! " he exclaimed, " I should floor ?^'° ' ^°^^ ^^ ^ *° ^^^ °"^ without ruining the Hilda laughed and drew aside the portiere. " Don't you think you have done that prettv well a ready? she asked. " There, don't look so solemn. Were not going to be sorry for a single thing we've 402 THE BLAZED TRAIL done to-dav, are we? " She stood close to him hold- iiT^ tht lapels of his jacket in either hand, searching his face wisthiUv with her fathomless tl" sky eyes " No, sweetheart, we are not," replied Ihorpe soberly. ■ m t_;, . iiwirwwBtti iii rB i mwt i mni ,ii» i iii*»Mf. li.swritiW»BM|r!»HJ««, Chapter LIX O'^jKii.LI it is useless to follow the sequel in de- . X tail, to tell how Hilda persuaded Thorpe to take W her money. She aroused skillfully his fis^liting blood, induced him to use one fortune to rescue an- y2S^- '^ ° ^ vvoman such as she this was not a very difficult task in the long run. A few scruples of pride : that was all. " Do not consider its being mine," she answered to his objections. " Remember the lesson we learned so bitterly. Nothing can be greater than love, not even our poor ideals. You have my love ; do not disappoint me oy refusing so little a thing as my money " "I hate to do it," he replied; ''it doesn't look right. " You must," she insisted. " I will not take the po- sition of rich wife to a poor man ; it is humiliating to both. I will not marry you until you have made your success." ]] 'i hat is right," said Thorpe heartilv. " \\ ell, then, are you going to be so selfish as to keep me waiting while you make an entirely new start when a little help on my part will bring ycjur plans to completion.?" ^ She saw the shadow of assent in his eyes. ]] How much do you need.? " she asked swiftly. I must take up the notes," he explained. " I must pay the men. I may need something on the stock- market. If I go in on this thing, I'm going in for -^eeps. Ill get after those fellows who have been 403 I . • A i'l 404 THE BLAZED TRAIL r--''-' ■ swindling Wallace. Say a hundred thousand dol- lars." " Why, it's nothing," she cried. " I'm glad you think so," he replied grimly. She ran to her dainty escritoire, where ' lie scribbled eagerly for a few moments. " There," she cried, her eyes shi' u g, " there is my check book all signed in blank. 1 11 see that the money is there." Thorpe took the book, staring at it with sightless eyes. Hilda, perched on the arm of his chair, watched his face closely, as later became her habit of interpre- tation. "What is it?" she asked. Thorpe looked up with a pitiful little smile that seemed to beg indulgence for what he was about to sav. '" I was just thinking, dear. I used to imagine I was a strong man, yet see how little my best efforts amount to. I have put myself into seven years of the hardest labor, working like ten men in order to succeed. I have foreseen all that mortal could foresee. I have alwayo thought, and think now, that a man is no man unless he works out the sort of success for which he is fitted. I have done fairly well until the crises came. Then I have been absolutely powerless, and if left to myself, I would have failed. At the times when a really strong man would have used effectively the strength l>e had been training, I have fallen back mis- erably on outer aid. Three times my affairs have be- come critical. In the crises I have been saved, first by a mere boy ; then by an old iUiterate man ; now by a weak woman ! " She heard him through in silence. " Harry," she said soberly when he had quite fin- ished, " I agree with you th'at God meant the strong man to succeed ; that without success the man has not THE BLAZED TRAIL 405 fulfilled h's reason for being. But, Harry, are you quite sure that Cod meant him to succeed alone f " The dusk fell through the little room. Out in the hallway a tall clock ticked solemnly. A noiseless ser- vant appeared in the doorway to light the lamps, but was silently motioned away. " I had not thought of that," said Thorpe at last. " \'ou men are so selfish," went on lldila. " You would take everything from us \\ hy can't you leave us the poor little privilege of the occasional deciding touch, the privilege of succor. It is all that weakness can do for strengtli." " And whv," she went on aftf^r a moment, " whv is not that, too, a part of a man's success — the gathering about him of people who can and w^ill supplement his efforts.' Who was it inspired Wallace Carpenter with confidence in an unknown man? You. What did it? Tliose very ([ualities by which you were building your success. Why did John Radway join forces with you ? How docs it happen that your men are of so high a standard of efficiency ? W hy am I willing to give you everything, everything, to my heart and soul? Be- cause it is you who ask it. Because you, Harry '^''lorpe, have woven us into your fortune, so that we •^ no choice. Depend upon us in the crises of your : ! Why, so are you dependent on your ten fin- i^er.'., your eyes, the fi' er of your brain ! Do you think the less of your fulfillment for that? " So it was that Hilda Farrand gave her lover confi- dence, brought him out from his fanaticism, launched him afresh into the current of events. He remained in Chicago all that summer, giving orders that all work at the village of Carpenter should cease. With his affairs that summer we have little to do. His com- mon-sense treatment of the stock market, by which a policy of quiescence following an outright buying of the stock which he had previously held on margins, VI rilM' 406 THE BLAZED TRAIL retrieved the losses already sustained, and finally put both paitncrs on a firm financial lootinf^. That is an- other story. So too is his reconciliation with and understanding of his sister. It came about through Hilda, of course. Perhaps in the inscrutable way of Providcncr the estrangement was of bene t, — even necessar; , — for it lia(l thrown him entirely within himself during his militant years. Let us rather look to the end of the summer. It now became a question of le-opcning the camps. Thorjje wrote to Shearer and Radway, whom he had retained, that he would arrive on Saturday noon, and suggested tha*- the two begin to look about for men. Friday, himself, Wallace Carpenter, Elizabeth Carpen- ter, Morton, Helen Thorpe, and Hilda Farra«U board- ed the north-bound trail*. '^^j . ^.'i^-." ^^:'. K Chapter LX rHE train of th- South Shore Railroad shot its way across the L.'-oad reaches of the northern peninsula. On either side of the right-of-way lay mystery in the shape ol'tliickets so dense and over- grown that the eye could penetrate them but a few feet at most. Beyond thcni stood the forests. Thus Nat- ure screened her intimacies from the impertinent eye of a new order of things. Thorpe welcomed the smell of the northland. He became almost eager, explaining, indicating to the girl at his side. " There is Ate Canada balsam," he cried. " Do you remember how I showed it to you first ? And vonder the spruce. How stuck up vour teeth wer when you tried to chew the gum before it had been heated. Do you remember? Look! Look there! It's a white pine ! Isn't it a grand tree ? It's the finest tree in the forest, by my way of thinking, so tall, so straight, so feathery, and so dignified. See, Hilda, look quick! 1 here's an old logging road all filled with raspberry vmes. We'd find lots of partridges there, and perhaps a bear. Wouldn't you just like to walk down it about sunset?" " Yes, Harry." " I wonder what we're stopping for. Seems to mc they are stopping at every squirrel's trail. Oh, this must be Sency. Yes, it is. Queer little place, isn't it ? but sort of attractive. Good deal like our town. Y^ • have never seen Carpenter, have you? Location's 407 ■ Mr |. S^^t^' 408 THE BLAZED TRAIL fine, anyway; and to me it's sort of picturesque. You'll like Mrs. Hathaway. She's a buxom, motherly woman who runs the boarding-house for eighty men. and still finds time to mend my clothes for me. And you'll like Solly. Solly's the tug captain, a mighty good fellow, true as a gun barrel. We'll have him take us out, some still day. Well bt- there in a few numitL's now. See the cranberry marslies. Sometimes there s a good deal of pine on little islands scattered over it, but it's very hard to log, unless you get a good winter. We had just such a proposition when I worked .or Radway. Oh, you'll like Radway, he's as good as gold. Helen ! " " Yes," repHed his sister. " I want you to know Radway. He's the man who gave me my start." " All right. Harry," laughed Helen. "I U meet any- body or anything from bears to Indians." "I know an Indian too — Gcczigut, an Ojibwa — we called him Injin Charley. He was my first friend in the north woods. He helped me get my timber This spring he killed a man — a good job, too — and is hiding now. I wish I knew where he is. But we 11 see him some day. He'll come back when the thing blows over. See ! See ! " " What ? " they all asked, breathless. " It's gone. Over beyond the hills there I caught a glimpse of Superior." "You are ridiculous, Harry," protested Helen Thorpe laughingly. *' I never saw you so. You are a regular boy ! " " Do you like boys? " he asked gravely of Hilda. •' Adore them ! " she cried. " All right, I don't care," he answered his sister m triumph. The air brakes began to make themselves felt, and shortly the train came to a grinding stop. THE BLAZED TRAIL 409 " What station is this ? " Thorpe asked the colored porter. " Shingleville, sah," the latter replied. " I thoup^ht so. Wallace, when did thci. mill burn, anyway? I haven't hcartl about it." " Last spring, about the time you went down." " Is that so? How did it happen? " " They claim incendiarism," parri'^d \\'allace cau- tiously. Thorpe pondered a moment, then laughed. " I am in the mixed attitude of the small boy," he observed, " who isn't mean enough to wish anybody's property destroyed, but who wishes tha*; if there is a firo, to be where he can see it. I am sorry those fellows had to lose their mill, but it was a good thing for us. The man who set that fire did us a good turn. If it hadn't been for the burning of their mill, they would have made a stronger fight against us in the stock market." Wallace and Hilda exch.anged glances. Thv'' girl was long since aware of the inside history of tt'ose days. " You'll have to tell them that," she whispered over the back of her seat. " It will please them." " Our station is next ! " cried Thorne, " and it's only a little ways. Come, get ready! " They all crowded into the narrow passage-way near the door, for the train barely paused. " All right, sah," said the porter, swin^jmg down his little step. Thorpe ran down to help the ladies. He was nearly taken from his feet by a wild-cat yell, and a moment later that result was actually accomplished by a rush of men that tossed him bodily onto its shoulders. At the same moment, the mill and tug whistles began to screech, miscellaneous fire-arms exploded. Even the locomotive engineer, in the spirit of the occasion, leaned down heartily on his whistle rope. The saw- IL iiH^.Lij(»^«£j^:.-^.:--iii«iI-#i'^> ^^^- 410 THE BLAZED TRAIL dust street was filled with screaminsf, jostling men. The homes of the town were briUiantly draped with cheesecloth, flags and buntinp^. l'"or a moment Tli