XXV
But a month later, at the summer camp, California John had opportunityto greet a visitor whom he was delighted to see. One morning a verydusty man leaned from his saddle and unlatched the gate beforeheadquarters. As he straightened again, he removed his broad hat andlooked up into the cool pine shadows with an air of great refreshment.
"Why, it's Ashley Thorne!" cried California John, leaping to his feet.
"The same," replied Thorne, reaching out his hand.
He dismounted, and Charley Morton, grinning a welcome, led his horseaway to the pasture.
"I sure am glad to see you!" said California John over and over again;"and where did you come from? I thought you were selling pine lands inOregon."
Thorne dropped into a chair with a sigh of contentment. "I was," saidhe, "and then they made the Transfer, so I came back."
"You're in the Service again?" cried California John delighted.
"Couldn't stay out now that things are in proper hands."
"Good! I expect you're down here to haul me over the coals," CaliforniaJohn chuckled.
"Oh, just to look around," said Thorne, biting at his close-clipped,bristling moustache.
Next morning they began to look around. California John was overjoyed atthis chance to show a sympathetic and congenial man what he had done.
"I got a trail 'way up Baldy now," he confided as they swung aboard."It's a good trail too; and it makes a great fire lookout. We'll take aride up there, if you have time before you go. Well, as I was tellingyou about that Cook cattle case--the old fellow says----"
At the end of the Supervisor's long and interested dissertation on theCook case, Thorne laughed gently.
"Looks as if you had him," said he, "and I think the Chief will sustainyou. You like this work, don't you?"
"I sure just naturally love it," replied California John earnestly."I've got the chance now to straighten things out. What I say goes. Forupward of nine years I've been ridin' around seein' how things had oughtto be done. And I couldn't get results nohow. Somebody always had agraft in it that spoiled the whole show. I could see how simple and easyit would be to straighten everythin' all out in good shape; but Icouldn't do nothing."
"Hard enough to hold your job," suggested Thorne.
"That's it. And everybody in the country thought I was a damn fool. Onlydamn fools and lazy men took rangers' jobs those days. But I hung onbecause I believed in it. And now I got the best job in the bunch. Inplace of being looked down on as that old fool John, I'm Mr. Davidson,the Forest Supervisor."
"It's a matter for pride," said Thorne non-committally.
"It isn't that," denied the old man; "I'm not proud because I'mSupervisor. Lord love you, Henry Plant was Supervisor; and I never heardtell that any one was proud of him, not even himself. But I'm proud ofbeing a _good_ supervisor. They ain't a sorehead near us now.Everybody's out for the Forest. I've made 'em understand that it's forthem. They know the Service is square. And we ain't had fires to amountto nothing; nor trespass."
"You've done good work," said Thorne soberly; "none better. No one couldhave done it but you. You have a right to be proud of it."
"Then you'll be sending in a good report," said California John, solelyby way of conversation. "I suspicion that last fellow gave me an awfulroast."
"I'm not an inspector," replied Thorne.
"That so? You used to be before you resigned; so I thought sure you mustbe now. What's your job?"
"I'll tell you when we have more time," said Thorne.
For three days they rode together. The Supervisor was a very busy man.He had errands of all sorts to accomplish. Thorne simply went along.Everywhere he found good feeling, satisfactory conditions.
At the end of the third day as the two men sat before the rough stonefireplace at headquarters, Thorne abruptly broke the long silence.
"John," said he, "I've got a few things to say that are not going to bepleasant either for you or for me. Nevertheless, I am going to say them.In fact, I asked the Chief for the privilege rather than having you hearthrough the regular channels."
California John had not in the least changed his position, yet all atonce the man seemed to turn still and watchful.
"Fire ahead," said he.
"You asked me the other day what my job is. It is Supervisor of thisdistrict. They have appointed me in your place."
"Oh, they have," said California John. He sat for some time, his eyesnarrowing, looking straight ahead of him. "I'd like to know why!" heburst out at last. A dull red spot burned on each side hisweather-beaten cheeks.
"I--"
"You had nothing to do with it," interrupted California John sharply; "Iknow that. But who did? Why did they do it? By God," he brought his fistdown sharply, "I intend to get to the bottom of this! I've been in theService since she started. I've served honest. No man can say I haven'tdone all my duty and been square. And that's been when every man-jack ofthem was getting his graft as reg'lar as his pay check. And since I'vebeen Supervisor is the only time this Forest has ever been in any kindof shape, if I do say it myself. I've rounded her up. I've stopped thegraft. I've fixed the 'soldiers.' I've got things in shape. They can'tremove me without cause--I know that--and if they think I'm goin' to liedown and take it without a kick, they've got off the wrong foot good andplenty!"
Thorne sat tight, nor offered a word of comment.
"You've been an inspector," California John appealed to him. "You'vebeen all over the country among the different reserves. Ain't mine up tothe others?"
"Things are in better shape here than in any of them," replied Thornedecisively; "your rangers have more _esprit de corps_, your neighboursare better disposed, your fires have a smaller percentage of acreage,your trails are better."
"Well?" demanded California John.
"Well," repeated Thorne leaning forward, "just this. What's the use ofit all?"
"Use?" repeated California John vaguely.
"Yes. Of what you and all the rest of us are doing."
"To save the public's property."
"That's part of it; and that's the part you've been doing superlativelywell. It's the old idea, that: the idea expressed by the old name--theForest _Reserves_--to save, to set aside. It seemed the most importantthing. The forests had so many eager enemies--unprincipled land-grabbersand lumbermen, sheep, fire. To beat these back required all our bestefforts. It was all we could think of. We hadn't time to think ofanything else. It was a full job."
"You bet it was," commented the old man grimly.
"Well, it's done. There will be attempts to go back to the old state ofaffairs, but they will grow feebler from year to year. Things will neverslide back again. The people are awake."
"Think so?" doubted California John.
"I know it. Now comes the new idea. We no longer speak of ForestReserves, but of National Forests. We've saved them; now what are wegoing to do with them? What would you think of a man who cleared a'forty', and pulled all the stumps, and then quit work?"
"I never thought of that," said California John, "but what's that got todo with these confounded whelps----"
"We are going to use these forests for the benefit of the people. We'regoing to cut the ripe trees and sell them to the lumber manufacturer;we're going to develop the water power; we're going to improve thegrazing; we're going to study what we have here, so that by and by fromour forests we will be getting the income the lumberman now gets, andwill not be injuring the estate. Each Forest is going to be a big andcomplicated business, like railroading or wholesaling. Anybody can runMartin's store down at the Flats. It takes a trained man to oversee evena proposition like the Star at White Oaks."
"Oh, I see what you're drivin' at," said California John, "but I've madegood up to now; and until they try me out, they've no right to fire me.I'll defy 'em to find anythin' crooked!!!"
"John, you're as straight as a string. But they have tried you out. Youroffice work has been away off."
"Oh, that! What's t
hose dinkey little reports and monkeydoodle businessamount to, anyhow? You know perfectly well it's foolish to ask a rangerto fill out an eight-page blank every time he takes a ride. What doesthat amount to?"
"Not very much," confessed Thorne. "But when things begin to hum aroundhere there'll be a thousand times as much of the same sort of stuff, andit'll _all_ be important."
"They'd better get me a clerk."
"They would get you a clerk, several of them. But no man has a right toeven boss a job he doesn't himself understand. What do you know abouttimber grading? estimating? mapping? What is your scientifictraining--?"
"I've give my soul and boot-straps to this Service for nine years--atsixty and ninety a month," interrupted California John. "Part of that Ispent for tools they was too stingy to give me. Now they kick me out."
"Oh, no, they don't," said Thorne. "Not any! But you agree with me,don't you, that you couldn't hold down the job?"
"I suppose so," snapped California John. "To hell with such a game. Ithink I'll go over Goldfield way."
"No, you won't," said Thorne gently. "You'll stay here, in the Service."
"What!" cried the old man rising to his feet; "stay here in the Service!And every mountain man to point me out as that old fool Davidson who gotfired after workin' nine years like a damn ijit. You talk foolish!"
Thorne arose too, and put one hand on the old man's shoulder.
"And what about those nine years?" he asked gently. "Things lookedpretty dark, didn't they? You didn't have enough to live on; and you gotyour salary docked without any reason or justice; and you had to standone side while the other fellows did things dishonest and wrong; and itdidn't look as though it was ever going to get better. Nine years is along time. Why did you do it?"
"I don't know," muttered California John.
"It was just waiting for this time that is coming. In five years we'llhave the people with us; we'll have Congress, and the money to dothings; we'll have sawmills and water-power, and regulated grazing, andtelephone lines, and comfortable quarters. We'll have a Servicesafeguarded by Civil Service, and a body of disciplined men, andofficers as the Army and Navy have. It's coming; and it's coming soon.You've been nine years at the other thing--"
"It's humiliating," insisted California John, "to do a job well and getfired."
"You'll still have just the job you have now--only you'll be called ahead-ranger."
"My people won't see it that way."
Ashley Thorne hesitated.
"No, they won't," said he frankly at last. "I could argue on the otherside; but they won't. They'll think you've dropped back a peg; andthey'll say to each other--at least some of them will: 'Old Davidson bitoff more than he could chew; and it serves him right for being a damnfool, anyway.' You've been content to play along misunderstood for nineyears because you had faith. Has that faith deserted you?"
California John looked down, and his erect shoulders shrunk forward alittle.
"Old friend," said Thorne, "it's a sacrifice. Are you going to stay andhelp me?"
California John for a long time studied a crack in the floor. When helooked up his face was illuminated with his customary quizzical grin.
"I've sure got it on Ross Fletcher," he drawled. "I done _told_ him Iwasn't no supervisor, and he swore I was."
PART FOUR