The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1886-12-11

| The bad Snoulu not De TOO quickly Tor
given, Miss Raymond" smiles Dick.
| NO, no. | don't mean that, but ofttimes
| kind forgiying word viii lead a guilty
soul to repentance.
Il fully coincide with you, and should ]
ever be so unfortunate as to incur your dis
pleasure, I sincerely hope you may remem-
Der this.
L trust that no such dire calamity ma,
befall you, for | do not always practice
what preach, she says, looking archly NJ
at Dick
They are getting well across the lake
now, and the mill is in plain sight. Huge
piles of lumber and logs, great mounds OF
sawdust surrounding the building, are evil
dences of a thriving business.
ITO whom does Wonder mill belong, Miss
| Raymond"
| why don't you know? 1t belongs to
| papa, but he spends very little of his time
there He leaves ii all in the hands of his
| overseer, Mr.. Sharp. That is the boarding
house just beyond. Ii is conducted by Mrs.
/ Sharp
Mr.. sharp's wife, I suppose" says
Dick.
no; his mother. There, Mr.. Hargrave,
look how badly We are beaten. Mr. Warner
and papa are landing now"
| But that fact does not seem to annoy him
| in the least, and he returns obstinately TO
| the subject of their conversation.
Your father must place considerable
confidence in his oyerseer. Is be a young
| man."
why, yes, comparatively young; about
| thirty I believe. All, here we are at last"
| she says. as the boat glides up TO the roughly
made landing.
| Dick wonders why she is so anxious 10
avoid talking Of her fathers overseer. aud
| is surprised u find himself feeling a trihe
| jealous of this man he has not seen, as he
| springs out and draws the boat up closely TO
! the steps and assists Claudio 10 alight
| As they turn TO walk up toward The mil,
| he observes Mr.. Raymond in earnest con-
yersation with a young man who instinct
of once tells him is Mr. Sharp. He is a
| small, wiry man, of It quick, nervous dspo-
| sition, his beardless face making him look
much younger than he really is; not at all a
| blocking man, is this Mr.. Sharp. He
! has pair of shrewd gray eyes, which are
continually rowing about not resting for a
| moment ON one object. \ good business
manager, but not a great fayorite with the
men.
Warner grsets Dick with some mild chat
| about his skill as an oarsman as they meet,
and then the THO saunter on together.
Mr.. Hargrave, allow me to make you ac-
| quainted with Mr.. Sharp, and Mr.. Warner,
| ditto, observes Raymond, pleasantly. MIR.
| Sharp is my right hand man here.
| The three men acknowledge the intro
| duction by n hand shake, and make some
| comments ON the weather and surround
ings. Then Mr.. Sharp turns to Claudio
with pleasant greeting:
at has been quite a while since You hon
ored rs with visit, Miss Claudio.
Not a great while" she says, looking
up. Il think 1 was over last week, Mr..
Sharp"
You speak of last week as though it
were but yesterday" he answers, smiling
slightly.
Come, Hargrave, and you, too, Warner,
and I'll show you round little"
81 think l will call on Mrs. Sharp,
| father"
VERY we'll; but be back here in half an
hour"
Il was just on my way up to the house,
Miss Raymond, and, if you will allow me, |
will accompany you" Sharp observes.
! Certainly, she responds.
| Dick doesn't half like this arrangement,
and he chances after them with something
of frown upon his handsome face. How
| ever, he is somewhat Modified at hearing
| Raymond call after them:
BE at the office pretty soon, Sharp, as 1
| want to see you a few minutes"
"I'll be back directly, sir"
well, come on, boys; there isn't much
| to show you here
They make q tour about the mill, and
listen 10 the explanations of the various
pieces OF machinery, as Raymond points
| them out. What din it all makes; the
| shrill, rasping noise of the saw, as it cuts
its way through a huge log, making its
| revolutions with a sort of savage rapidity
| that causes Warren TO shiver as he gazes
upon it.
NO. thank you" he says; Il am as
near to that murderous thing as / care to
| be. Dick, you careless dog, keep away
| from there. You will be putting your
| fingers on it, next. to see if the thing is
going."
He breathes more freely as they pass out
and walk down toward the little office.
middle-aged man, of genteel appearance,
gets down off his high stool and comes out
| from behind the railing to greet Mr.. Ray
mond, and they are forthwith introduced te
| Mr.. Humphrey.
GIVE your letter to Humphrey, and he
viii see that it is mailed for you, Dick,
says Raymond, "and then we will sit down
and enjoy a smoke" pulling out a we'll
filed case of cigars and passing it around
well, Sharp" as that individual enters
"how is everything running"
First rate, sir. first rate. The demand
mas made us behind our orders. / thinI
We will have to run a night gang pretty
soon"
well, that is good; but I wanted Il
speak to you in regard to that Pittsburgh
matter. / think you had better run down
next week and look after it"
10 ol,- CIV
Shall | make my arrangements to go mex
week."
Yes, think you had better; and, by the
way, you know where Logan's run is, an6
the big bend:"
Yes, sir.
Well, you may send man over there
to the cabin in the bend, and have hin
pick up these gentlemen's traps, and bring
them over to my place"
Very well, sir"
And now. BOYS" turning to Dick anC
Tom, come on; we Will go back to oul
boats. Sharp, come over and take tea witt
us this evening. The nights are fine, 2 lG
a row across the lake will do you good"
Thank you, | shall be delighted" and
the little man s face lights up with pleasure
What queer little cuss that overseer is
Dick, says Tom, as they walk down to the
landing. He never looks a fellow straight
in the eyes.
NO, 1 don't half like him, " mutters Dick
He looks to me like an evil genius"
We'll, I don't see how Raymond comes
10 place so much confidence in him."
oh, he may be honest enough in bust
ness matters, but think he would try ant
make it warm for anyone that crossed hi:
path.
1T is too near id-dav to do any trolling
IN the lake now, boys" Raymond calls out
to them, so We will row oyer to a pretty
little spot | know of, and have luncheon.
Here comes Claudio, so we can start al
once"
Am / late:" she asks. as she trips light
ly down to the boat, her face flushing
slightly from her walk. Mrs Sharp had
so much to tell me, thought never would
get away"
And so in few minutes they are again
ont on the lake, heading for pretty grove
upon its shores near by. The trip is soor
made, and the boats are beached Dies
! carries the well-tlled basket to a spot indi-
aar l-=t W..