CHAPTER V
HURLEY LAYS OUT THE NEW CAMP
"Want to go 'long?" asked Hurley, the morning after the "bear-cat"incident, as he and Connie were returning to the office from breakfastat the cook's camp. "I've got to locate the new camp an' then we'llblaze her out an' blaze the road so Saginaw can keep the men goin'." Theboy eagerly assented, and a few moments later they started, Hurleycarrying an axe, and Connie with a light hand-axe thrust into his belt.Turning north, they followed the river. It was slow travelling, for itwas necessary to explore every ravine in search of a spot where a roadcrossing could be effected without building a bridge. The spot located,Hurley would blaze a tree and they would strike out for the next ravine.
"It ain't like we had to build a log road," explained the boss, as heblazed a point that, to Connie, looked like an impossible crossing."Each camp will have its own rollways an' all we need is a tote roadbetween 'em. Frenchy Lamar can put a team anywhere a cat will go. He'sthe best hand with horses on the job, if he is a jumper."
"What's a jumper?" asked Connie.
"You'll find that out fast enough. Jumpin' a man generally means a fightin the woods--an' I don't blame 'em none, neither. If I was a jumper an'a man jumped me, he'd have me to lick afterwards--an' if any one jumps ajumper into hittin' me, he'll have me to lick, too."
When they had proceeded for four or five miles Hurley turned againtoward the river and for two hours or more studied the ground minutelyfor a desirable location for the new camp. Up and down the bank, andback into the woods he paced, noting in his mind every detail of the layof the land. "Here'd be the best place for the camp if it wasn't ferthat there sand bar that might raise thunder when we come to bust outthe rollways," he explained, as they sat down to eat their lunch atmidday. "There ain't no good rollway ground for a half a mile below thebar--an' they ain't no use makin' the men walk any furthur'n what theyhave to 'specially at night when they've put in a hard day's work. We'lldrop back an' lay her out below--it ain't quite as level, but it'll savetime an' a lot of man-power."
As Connie ate his lunch he puzzled mightily over Hurley. He hadjourneyed from far off Alaska for the purpose of bringing to justice aman who had swindled him and his partner out of thousands of dollarsworth of timber. His experience with the Mounted had taught him that,with the possible exception of Notorious Bishop whose consummate nervehad commanded the respect even of the officers whose business it was tohunt him down, law-breakers were men who possessed few if any admirablequalities. Yet here was a man who, Connie was forced to admit, possessedmany such qualities. His first concern seemed to be for the comfort ofhis men, and his orders regarding the keeping of the wanagan book showedthat it was his intention to deal with them fairly. His attitude towardthe despicable I. W. W.'s was the attitude that the boy knew would havebeen taken by any of the big men of the North whose rugged standards hehad unconsciously adopted as his own. He, himself, had been treated bythe boss with a bluff friendliness--and he knew that, despite Hurley'sblustering gruffness, the men, with few exceptions, liked him. The boyfrankly admitted that had he not known Hurley to be a crook he too wouldhave liked him.
Luncheon over, the boss arose and lighted his pipe: "Well, 'spose wejust drop back an' lay out the camp, then on the way home we'll line upthe road an' take some of the kinks out of it an' Saginaw can jump themen into it tomorrow mornin'." They had proceeded but a short distancewhen the man pointed to a track in the softer ground of a low swale:"Deer passed here this mornin'," he observed. "The season opens nextweek, an' I expect I won't be back with the crew in time for the fun. Ifyou'd like to try yer hand at it, yer welcome to my rifle. I'll dig youout some shells tonight if you remind me to."
"I believe I will have a try at 'em," said Connie, as he examined thetracks; "there were two deer--a doe, and a half-grown fawn, and therewas a _loup-cervier_ following them--that's why they were hitting forthe river."
Hurley stared at the boy in open-mouthed astonishment: "Looky here, kid,I thought you said you never worked in the woods before!"
Connie smiled: "I never have, but I've hunted some, up across the line."
"I guess you've hunted _some_, all right," observed the boss, drily; "Iwondered how it come you wasn't petered out that night we come into thewoods. Wherever you've hunted ain't none of my business. When a man'sgoin' good, I b'lieve in tellin' him so--same's I b'lieve in tellin' himgood an' plain when he ain't. You've made a good start. Saginaw told meabout what you done to that mouthy cookee. That was all right, fer as itwent. If I'd be'n you I'd a punched his face fer him when I had him down'til he hollered' 'nough'--but if you wanted to let him off that hain'tnone of my business--jest you keep yer eye on him, that's all--he'sdirty. Guess I didn't make no mistake puttin' you in fer clerk--you'velearnt to keep yer eyes open--that's the main thing, an' mebbe it'llstand you good 'fore this winter's over. There's more'n I. W. W.'s isthe matter with this camp--" The boss stopped abruptly and, eyeing theboy sharply, repeated his warning of a few days before: "Keep yer mouthshet. There's me, an' Saginaw, an' Lon Camden--he'll be the scaler, an'whoever bosses Number Two Camp--Slue Foot Magee, if I can git holt ofhim. He was my straw-boss last year. If you've got anythin' to say, sayit to us. Don't never tell nothin' to nobody else about nothin' that'sany 'count--see?"
"You can depend on me for that," answered the boy, and Hurley picked uphis axe.
"Come on, le's git that camp laid out. We won't git nothin' done if westand 'round gassin' all day." The two followed down the river to thepoint indicated by Hurley where the banks sloped steeply to the water'sedge, well below the long shallow bar that divided the current of theriver into two channels. As they tramped through the timber Conniepuzzled over the words of the boss. Well he knew that there wassomething wrong in camp beside the I. W. W.'s. But why should Hurleyspeak of it to him? And why should he be pleased at the boy's habit ofobservation? "Maybe he thinks I'll throw in with him on the deal," hethought: "Well, he's got an awful jolt coming to him if he does--but,things couldn't have broken better for me, at that."
At the top of the steep bank Hurley blazed some trees, and with a heavyblack pencil, printed the letter R in the centre of the flat, whitescars. "That'll show 'em where to clear fer the rollways," he explained,then, striking straight back from the river for about twenty rods, heblazed a large tree. Turning at right angles, he proceeded about twentyfive rods parallel with the river bank and made a similar blaze. "Thatgives 'em the corners fer the clearin', an' now fer spottin' thebuildin's." Back and forth over the ground went the man, pausing now andthen to blaze a tree and mark it with the initial of the building whosesite it marked. "We don't have to corner these," he explained, "Saginawknows how big to build 'em--the trees marks their centre." The sun hunglow when the task was completed. "You strike out for the head of thenearest ravine," said Hurley, "an' when you come to the tree we blazedcomin' up, you holler. Then I'll blaze the tote road to you, an' you canslip on to the next one. Straighten her out as much as you can byholdin' away from the short ravines." Connie was surprised at therapidity with which Hurley followed, pausing every few yards to scar atree with a single blow of his axe.
The work was completed in the dark and as they emerged onto the clearingHurley again regarded the boy with approval: "You done fine, kid. They'splenty of older hands than you be, that would of had trouble locatin'them blazes in the night, but you lined right out to 'em like you wasfollerin' a string. Come on, we'll go wash up an' see what the cook'sgot fer us."
After supper Saginaw Ed received his final instructions, and early nextmorning Hurley struck out on foot fer Dogfish Spur. "So long, kid," hecalled from the office door. "I left the shells on top of my desk an'yonder hangs the rifle. I was goin' to give you a few pointers, but fromwhat I seen yeste'day, I don't guess you need none about huntin'. Imight be back in a week an' it might be two 'cordin' to how long ittakes me to pick up a crew. I've got some men waitin' on me, but I'llhave to rustle up the balance wherever I can git 'em. I told Saginaw hebetter move his turkey ov
er here while I'm gone. You'll find Saginaw arough-bark piece of timber--but he's sound clean plumb through to theheart, an' if you don't know it now, before this winter's over yer goin'to find out that them's the kind to tie to--when you kin find 'em."
Connie gazed after the broad-shouldered form 'til it disappeared fromsight around a bend of the tote road, then he turned to his books with apuzzled expression. "Either Mike Gillum was wrong, or Hurley's thebiggest bluffer that ever lived," he muttered, "and which ever way it isI'll know by spring."
Saginaw put his whole crew at work on the tote road. Saplings and brushwere cleared away and thrown to the side. Trees were felled, the largerones to be banked on the skidways and later hauled to the rollways toawait the spring break-up, and the smaller ones to be collected andhauled to the new camp for building material.
Connie's duties were very light and he spent much time upon the new toteroad watching the men with whom he had become a great favourite. Tiringof that, he would take long tramps through the woods and along the banksof the numerous little lakes that besprinkled the country, searching forsign, so that, when the deer season opened he would not have to hunt atrandom, but could stalk his game at the watering places.
"Whar's yer gun, sonny?" called out a lanky sawyer as the boy startedupon one of these excursions.
"Hay ain' need no gun," drawled Swede Larson, with a prodigious winkthat distorted one whole side of his face. "Ay tank he gon fer hont somebear-cat." And the laughter that followed told Connie as he proceeded onhis way, that his handling of Steve had met the universal approval ofthe crew.
It was upon his return from this expedition that the boy witnessed anactual demonstration of the effect of sudden suggestion upon a jumper.Frenchy Lamar pulled his team to the side of the roadway and drew hiswatch from his pocket. At the same time, Pierce, one of the I. W. W.suspects, slipped up behind him and bringing the flat of his hand downupon Frenchy's shoulder, cried: "_throw it_." Frenchy threw it, and thewatch dropped with a jangle of glass and useless wheels at the foot of atree. The next instant Frenchy whirled upon his tormentor with a snarl.The man, who had no stomach for an open fight, turned to run but theFrenchman was too quick for him. The other two I. W. W.'s started totheir pal's assistance but were halted abruptly, and none too gently byother members of the crew. "Fight!" "Fight!" The cry was taken up bythose nearby and all within hearing rushed gleefully to the spot. Theteamster was popular among the men and he fought amid cries of adviceand encouragement: "Soak 'im good, Frenchy!" "Don't let 'im holler''nough' till he's down!"
The combat was short, but very decisive. Many years' experience in thelumber woods had taught Frenchy the art of self-defence by force offist--not, perhaps, the most exalted form of asserting a right nor ofavenging a wrong--but, in the rougher walks of life, the most thoroughlypractical, and the most honourable. So, when the teamster returned tohis horses a few minutes later, it was to leave Pierce whimpering uponthe ground nursing a badly swollen and rapidly purpling eye, the whilehe muttered incoherent threats of dire vengeance.