Chapter 35
Preparations
A light snow drifted down onto ice-covered Lake Namakagon. Olaf and Ingman sat before the large fireplace in the lodge. The fire crackled as the flames licked around the maple logs that lay across the andirons.
“Ingman, I think you should head into town first thing in the morning,” Olaf said. “Telegraph the sheriff. Tell him to get out here and pick up this gol damn, dog-bit scoundrel. Take the south tote road so you do not have to cross Muldoon’s dam. Then, after you send the telegram, I want you to talk with Bill Burns, the constable employed by the Omaha line. I doubt he has any obligations to Phineas Muldoon. Feel him out. Ask who he would recommend to help us keep the camp safe and secure, at least through the spring drive.”
“I can make Cable by nine o’clock tomorrow mornin’. I know Burns from across the Cable House poker tables. I’ll talk to him. Olaf, I’d say we best let the men in on what’s goin’ on here. They have a right to know.”
“I agree. Yes, right after supper.”
One hour later in the cook shanty, Junior Kavanaugh rapped a wooden spoon on a soup kettle to get the men’s attention.