Connie Morgan in the Lumber Camps

  CHAPTER XI

  CONNIE FINDS AN ALLY

  "Wher's Pierce?" asked Slue Foot Magee, as he glanced down upon the twofigures that crouched close about the little fire.

  "He went on ahead to hunt a place to camp. We waited to pack the stuff,"lied the man, nodding toward the pack sack that the boss of Camp Two haddeposited in the snow.

  "I sure was surprised when Sam, here, popped out of the woods an' toldme ye'd got away an' needed blankets an' grub. Wha'd ye do to Hurley?An' how come ye didn't hit fer the railroad an' make yer git-away?"

  "We beat Hurley up a-plenty so'st he won't be in no hurry to take no I.W. W.'s nowheres ag'in. An' as fer hittin' fer the railroad, it's toocold fer to ride the rods or the bumpers, an' we hain't got a dollarbetween us. You'll have to stake us fer the git-away."

  Slue Foot frowned: "I hain't got a cent, neither. Come into the woods oncredick--an' hain't draw'd none."

  "That's a fine mess we're in!" exclaimed the leader angrily. "How fer d'ye figger we're a-goin' to git on what little grub ye fetched in thatpack? An' wher' we goin' to--bein' as we're broke? We hit back fer you'cause we know'd ye stood strong in the organization an' we had a rightto think ye'd see us through."

  "I'll see ye through!" growled Slue Foot, impatiently. "But I can't giveye nawthin' I hain't got, kin I?" He stood for a few moments staringinto the fire, apparently in deep thought. "I've got it!" he exclaimed."The Syndicate's got a camp 'bout ten mile north of here on WillerRiver. They're short handed an' the boss'll hire anything he kin git.Seen him in town 'fore I come out, an' he wanted to hire me, but I wasalready hired to Hurley--got a boss's job, too, an' that's better'n whatI'd got out of him. If youse fellers hadn't of be'n in such a hurry topull somethin' an' had of waited 'til I come, ye wouldn't of botched thejob an' got caught."

  "Is that so!" flared the leader. "I s'pose we'd ort to know'd ye wasgoin' to be hired on this job! An' I s'pose our instructions is not topull no rough stuff onless you're along to see it's done right!"

  "They hain't nawthin' in standin' 'round argerin'," interrupted SlueFoot. "What I was a-goin' on to say is that youse better hike on up toWiller River an' git ye a job. There's grub enough in the pack to lastye twict that fer."

  "Wher'll we tell the boss we come from? 'Taint in reason we'd hit thatfer into the woods huntin' a job."

  "Tell him ye got sore on me an' quit. If they's any questions asked I'llback ye up."

  The leader of the I. W. W.'s looked at Sam, and Sam looked at theleader. They were in a quandary. For reasons of their own they had nottold Slue Foot that they had picked up Saginaw--and with Saginaw ontheir hands, how were they going to follow out the boss's suggestion?

  Behind his big tree, Connie Morgan had been an interested listener. Heknew why the men stared blankly at each other, and chuckled to himselfat their predicament.

  "What's to hinder someone from Camp One a-trailin' us up there?"suggested Sam.

  "Trailin' ye! How they goin' to trail ye? It was a-snowin' clean up tothe time ye got to Camp Two, an' if any one sees yer tracks around thereI'll say I sent some men up that way fer somethin'. An' besides," hecontinued, glancing upward where the clouds that had thinned into flyingscuds had thickened again, obliterating the stars, "this storm hain'tover yet. It'll be snowin' ag'in 'fore long an' ye won't leave no moretrail'n a canoe. Anyways, that's the best way I kin think of. If you'vegot a better one go to it--I've done all I kin fer ye." There wasfinality in Slue Foot's voice as he drew on his mittens, and turned fromthe fire. "So long, an' good luck to ye."

  "So long," was the rather surly rejoinder. "If that's the best we kindo, I s'pose we gotta do it. Mebbe if it starts snowin' we're all right,an' if we make it, we'll be safer up there than what we would down alongthe railroad, anyways. They won't be no one a-huntin' us in the woods."

  "Sure they won't," agreed Slue Foot, as he passed from sight into thetimber.

  The two beside the fire sat in silence until the sound of Slue Foot'sfootsteps was swallowed up in the distance. Then Sam spoke: "What wegoin' to do with this here Saginaw?" he asked.

  The leader glanced skyward. "It's startin' to snow--" he leered and,stopping abruptly, rose to his feet. "Wait till we git Pierce in here."Producing some pieces of rope from his pocket, he grinned. "Lucky Ifetched these along when I cut 'em off my hands. We'll give him a chanctto see how it feels to be tied up onct." The man stepped into the timberand a few minutes later returned accompanied by Pierce, to whom theyimmediately began to relate what had passed between them and the boss ofCamp Two.

  The moment they seated themselves about the fire, Connie slipped fromhis hiding place behind the tree and stole noiselessly toward the spotwhere the men had left Saginaw. Snow was falling furiously now, addingthe bewildering effect of its whirling flakes to the intense blacknessof the woods. Removing his snow-shoes to avoid leaving a wide, flattrail, the boy stepped into the tracks of the two who had returned tothe fire and, a few moments later, was bending over a dark form that satmotionless with its back against the trunk of a tree.

  "It's me, Saginaw," he whispered, as the keen edge of his knife bladesevered the ropes that bound the man's hands and feet.

  "WHAT IN THE NAME OF TIME BE YOU DOIN' HERE?" EXCLAIMEDSAGINAW.]

  The man thrust his face close to Connie's in the darkness. "What in thename of time be you doin' here?" he exclaimed.

  "Sh-sh-sh," whispered the boy. "Come on, we've got to get away in ahurry. There's no tellin' how soon those fellows will finish theirpowwow."

  "What do you mean--git away? When we git away from here we take thembirds along, er my name ain't Saginaw Ed! On top of tryin' to burn upthe camp they've up an' murdered Hurley, an' they'd of done the like byme, if they'd be'n give time to!"

  "We'll get them, later. I know where they're going. What we've got to dois to beat it. Step in my tracks so they won't know there were two ofus. They'll think you cut yourself loose and they won't try to follow inthe dark, especially if the storm holds."

  "But them hounds has got my rackets."

  "I've got mine, and when we get away from here I'll put 'em on and breaktrail for you."

  "Look a here, you give me yer gun an' I'll go in an' clean up on themdesperadoes. I'll show 'em if the I. W. W.'s is goin' to run the woods!I'll----"

  "Come on! I tell you we can get 'em whenever we want 'em----"

  "I'll never want 'em no worse'n I do right now."

  "Hurley's all right, I saw him a little while ago."

  "They said they----"

  "I don't care what they said. Hurley's down in the office, right now.Come on, and when we put a few miles behind us, I'll tell you all youwant to know."

  "You'll tell a-plenty, then," growled Saginaw, only half convinced. "An'here's another thing--if you're double crossin' me, you're a-goin' towish you never seen the woods."

  The boy's only answer was a laugh, and he led, swiftly as the intensedarkness would permit, into the woods. They had gone but a shortdistance when he stopped and put on his rackets. After that progress wasfaster, and Saginaw Ed, mushing along behind, wondered at the accuracywith which the boy held his course in the blackness and the whirlingsnow. A couple of hours later, Connie halted in the shelter of a thickwindfall. "We can rest up for a while, now," he said, "and I'll tell yousome of things you want to know."

  "Where do you figger we're at?" asked Saginaw, regarding the boyshrewdly.

  "We're just off the tote road between the two camps," answered the boywithout hesitation.

  A moment of silence followed the words and when he spoke the voice ofSaginaw sounded hard: "I've be'n in the woods all my life, an' it wouldof bothered me to hit straight fer camp on a night like this. They'ssomethin' wrong here somewheres, kid--an' the time's come fer ashowdown. I don't git you, at all! You be'n passin' yerself off fer agreener. Ever sence you went out an' got that deer I've know'd youwasn't--but I figgered it worn't none of my business. Then when youout-figgered them hounds--that worn't no greener's job, an' I know'dthat--but,
I figgered you was all to the good. But things has happenedsence, that ain't all to the good--by a long shot. You've got someexplainin' to do, an' seein' we're so clost to camp, we better go on tothe office an' do it around the stove."

  "We wouldn't get much chance to powwow in the office tonight. Hurley'sthere, and the doctor, and Steve, and Lon Camden."

  "The doctor?"

  "Yes, those fellows beat Hurley up pretty bad, but he's coming along allright. Steve stayed by him, and the doctor said it saved his life."

  "You don't mean that sneakin' cookee that throw'd in with the I. W.W.?"

  "Yup."

  "Well, I'll be doggoned! But, them bein' in the office don't alter thecase none. We might's well have things open an' above board."

  Connie leaned forward and placed his hand on the man's arm. "What I'vegot to say, I want to say to you, and to no one else. I wanted to playthe game alone, but while I was trailing you down from Willow River, Idecided I'd have to let you in on it."

  "You know'd I follered you up there?"

  "Of course I knew it. Didn't I help you string that racket?"

  Saginaw shook his head in resignation. "We might's well have it outright here," he said. "I don't git you. First off, you figger how tocatch them jaspers with the goods an' lock 'em up. Then you throw inwith Slue Foot. Then you hike up to the Syndicate camp an' is thicker'nthieves with the boss. Then you pop up in a blizzard in the middle ofthe night an' cut me loose. Then you turn 'round an' let them hounds gowhen we could of nailed 'em where they set--seems like you've bit offquite a contract to make all them things jibe. Go ahead an' spit 'erout--an' believe me, it'll be an earful! First, though, you tell mewhere them I. W. W.'s is goin' an' how you know. If I ain't satisfied,I'm a-goin' to hit right back an' git 'em while the gittin's good."

  "They're going up to work for the Syndicate in the Willow River Camp."

  "Know'd they was loose an' slipped up to git 'em a job, did you?" askedSaginaw sarcastically.

  Connie grinned. "No. But there's a big job ahead of you and me thiswinter--to save the timber and clear Hurley's name."

  "What do you know about Hurley an' the timber?"

  "Not as much as I will by spring. But I do know that we lost $14,000 onthis job last winter. You see, I'm one of the owners."

  "One of the owners!" Saginaw exclaimed incredulously.

  "Yes. I've got the papers here to prove it. You couldn't read 'em in thedark, so you'll have to take my word for it 'til we get where you canread 'em. Waseche Bill is my partner and we live in Ten Bow, Alaska.Soon after Hurley's report reached us, showing the loss, a letter camefrom Mike Gillum, saying that Hurley was in the pay of theSyndicate----"

  "He's a liar!" cried Saginaw wrathfully shaking his mittened fist inConnie's face. "I've know'd Hurley, man an' boy, an' they never was asquarer feller ever swung an axe. Who is this here Mike Gillum? Lead meto him! I'll tell him to his face he's a liar, an' then I'll prove it bygivin' him the doggonest lickin' he ever got--an' I don't care if he'sbig as a meetin' house door, neither!"

  "Wait a minute, Saginaw, and listen. I know Hurley's square. But Ididn't know it until I got acquainted with him. I came clear down fromAlaska to catch him with the goods, and that's why I hired out to him.But, Mike Gillum is square, too. He's boss of the Syndicate camp onWillow River. A clerk in the Syndicate office told him that theSyndicate was paying Hurley, and Mike wrote to Waseche Bill. He's afriend of Waseche's--used to prospect in Alaska----"

  "I don't care if he used to prospeck in heaven! He's a liar if he saysHurley ever double crossed any one!"

  "Hold on, I think I've got an idea of what's going on here and it willbe up to us to prove it. The man that's doing the double crossing isSlue Foot Magee. I didn't like his looks from the minute I first sawhim. Then he began to hint that there were ways a forty-dollar-a-monthclerk could double his wages, and when I pretended to fall in with hisscheme he said that when they begin laying 'em down he'll show me how toshade the cut. And more than that, he said he had something big he'd letme in on later, provided I kept my eyes and ears open to what went on inthe office."

  "An' you say you an' yer pardner owns this here timber?"

  "That's just what I said."

  "Then Slue Foot's ondertook to show you a couple of schemes where youkin steal consider'ble money off yerself?"

  Connie laughed. "That's it, exactly."

  Saginaw Ed remained silent for several moments. "Pervidin' you kin showthem papers, an' from what I've saw of you, I ain't none surprised ifyou kin, how come it that yer pardner sent a kid like you way down hereon what any one ort to know would turn out to be a rough job anyways youlook at it?"

  "He didn't send me--I came. He wanted to come himself, but at that timewe thought it was Hurley we were after, and Hurley knows Waseche so hecould never have found out anything, even if he had come down. Andbesides, I've had quite a lot of experience in jobs like this. I serveda year with the Mounted."

  "The Mounted! You don't mean the Canady Mounted Police!"

  "Yes, I do."

  There was another long silence, then the voice of Saginaw rumbled almostplaintively through the dark, "Say, kid, you ain't never be'n_President_, have you?"

  Connie snickered. "No, I've never been President. And if there's nothingelse you want to know right now, let's hit the hay. We've both done someman's size mushing today."

  "You spoke a word, kid," answered Saginaw, rising to his feet; "Iwouldn't put no crookedness whatever past Slue Foot. But that didn'tgive this here Gillum no license to blackguard Hurley in no letter."

  "Has Hurley ever worked for the Syndicate?" asked Connie.

  "No, he ain't. I know every job he's had in Minnesoty an' Westconsin.Then he went out West to Idyho, or Montany, or somewheres, an' thishere's the first job he's had sence he come back."

  "What I've been thinking is that Slue Foot has passed himself off to theSyndicate as Hurley. They know that Hurley is boss of this camp, butthey don't know him by sight. It's a risky thing to do, but I believeSlue Foot has done it."

  "Well, jumpin' Jerushelam! D'you s'pose he'd of dared?"

  "That's what we've got to find out--and we've got to do it alone. Youknow Hurley better than I do, and you know that he's hot-headed, and youknow that if he suspected Slue Foot of doing that, he couldn't wait toget the evidence so we could get him with the goods. He'd just naturallysail into him and beat him to a pulp."

  Saginaw chuckled. "Yes, an' then he'd squeeze the juice out of the pulpto finish off with. I guess yer right, kid. It's up to me an' you. Buthow'd you know them I. W. W.'s is headin' fer Willer River?"

  "Because I heard Slue Foot tell them to."

  "Slue Foot!"

  "Yes, I forgot to tell you that Slue Foot is an I. W. W., too. I didn'tknow it myself 'til tonight. You see, when I got back to camp and foundthat Hurley's prisoners had made a get-away, I knew right then why youhad turned off the back trail from Willow River. I knew they'd treat youlike they did Hurley, or worse, so I hit the trail."

  "Wasn't they no one else handy you could of brung along?" asked Saginaw,drily.

  "The whole camp would have jumped at the chance--and you know it! Andyou know what they'd have done when they caught 'em. I knew I couldtravel faster and make less noise than a big gang, and I knew I couldhandle the job when I got there. I had slipped up and was watching whenPierce took you into the timber. He did that because they heard someonecoming. It was Slue Foot, and he brought 'em a grub stake and someblankets. They knew he was an I. W. W., and they'd managed to slip himthe word that they were loose. They wanted him to stake them to somemoney, too, but Slue Foot said he didn't have any, and told them to geta job up on Willow River. He told them they'd be safer there than theywould anywhere down along the railroad."

  "Yes, but how'd you know they'll go there?"

  "They can't go any place else," laughed the boy. "They're broke, andthey've only got a little bit of grub."

  "When we goin' up an' git 'em?" persisted Saginaw.

/>   "We'll let the sheriff do that for us, then the whole thing will beaccording to law."

  "I guess that's right," assented the man, as the two swung down the toteroad.

  "We'd better roll in in the men's camp," suggested Connie, as theyreached the clearing. A little square of light from the office windowshowed dimly through the whirling snow, and, approaching noiselessly,the two peeked in. Mounded blankets covered the sleeping forms of thedoctor and Lon Camden; Hurley's bandaged head was visible upon hiscoarse pillow, and beside him sat Steve, wide awake, with the bottles ofmedicine within easy reach.

  "Half past one!" exclaimed Saginaw, glancing at the little clock. "Byjiminetty, kid, it's time we was to bed!"