Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1892-01-09
AS THE TREE FALLS.

In the woods, as elsewhere, time
goes on, and Monday morning comes
with all it's depressing blneness to
such as have spent the leisure hours
since Saturday night in riotous living.
For once Franks appe.te failed
him. The work-ox beefsteak and de-
lectable fiapjack were not to his lik-
ing. His muscular neighbor noticed
it and said: "Better eat sump'n, or
you'll never stand it till noon"
Frank felt grateful for the consid-
: GRAFTON, but did not act upon the adj
viceSwhereupoR his friend piled him
with the coffee-pot, saying: ''Here,
then, drink some o. this to scald out
yer coppers."
But, no; the pains of racking
headache and disordered stomach
were not to be soothed by cafe noir-
very much noir and many times
warmed up-so Frank got up and
went out.
He seated himself on the bench in
front of the cook-house to wait for
the others. The morning air was re-
freshing, and it enabled him to think
cOherently of the recent wOeful occur
renee.
He remembered it all now: the
white-fronted saloon, at the forks of
the road; the dingy, fowl-smelling
bar-room; the cheap mirror and fix
lures and the audacious pictures on
the walls; the card-littered floor and
the reeking spittoons; the click of the
poker chips and the quaint originality
of some of the blasphemy.
Then the game. How he did win
at the beginning, and how the on
lockers craned their necks to see how
he discarded; and when he s'went his
whole pile" on three jacks, and some
one behind him remarked, in a low
tone, "He's blooded, you bet yer!''
how a feeling of confidence crept over
him. 'There's home-stake to be
won right here and now" he had said
to himself. But the fates willed it
otherwise, for Lucky Bob "called"
him, and the Showdown" displayed
three queens from the hand of the
latter, which ended the game for
Frank. But they filed him up with
'sforty-rod" by way of consolation, and
he struck out for camp by the light
of the moon.
The railroad track, he remembered
thinking, must surely be narrower
than standard gauge and the ties I'M
necessarily close together, and there
was something wrong with the moon,
for she hid herself behind cloud I'M
til he reached the high trestle, when,
suddenly, she unveiled her peerless
light" that, glittering in the creek
: below, startled and perplexed him.
He had sat down to consider all these
matters, and there they had found
him soliloquizing, with many gestures
and an occasional apostrophe, to the
inconstant moon. He remembered
their helping him home and putting
him to bed. Alas! to be aroused in
too short a time by the footing of the
relentless horn.
The retrospect ceased as the crew
fled out from breakfast. The fore
man stood by the door, and, with that
strangely retentive memory which
many unlettered people possess, men
tally registered each who went to
work. Among the first was old Josh,
the f1ler, who took his position behind
his bench, and, with arms folded and
matutinal pipe alight, waited for the
sun to climb little before beginning
his daily task of pointing teeth and
swedging rakers.
The crew, apart from the choppers
and peelers, was divided into two
gangs Each gang had its compile
ment OF sawyers, chain tenders. and
swampers, and each had donkey
engine to haul the logs from their
beds, where the sawyers left them,
into the sssnaking roads" The team
took charge of them from there on,
hauling from the two engines alter
nately. Further back in the forest,
the choppers and peelers worked col
lectively for the two outfits"
For one of these stoutflts" Frank
sawed chunks. A chunk-sawyership
Is by no means an exalted position in |
the wood-butcher brotherhood; still
tt often serves as stepping to
something better. The duties are to |
cut into movable dimensions any |
Windfalls or worthless tree-tops that |
may lie in the way of the road-makers |
and to remove the lighter obstructing
debris by hand.
He needed q sharpened saw. Josh |
must be interviewed. With a long,
drawn sigh, he arose and, walking
Wearily ACROSS the track to where the
bench stood, made known his wants. |
SLOWS the country where you're
Workin, now?n asked the old man.
ssSteep,n was the brief reply.
Here's what you want, then,
handing down the implement nom
IT. resting place against huge stump
sh sti1backed saw for sideling |
country"
s. Just then the ssboss' came and
IA: s'Gpess ron won't need that to-l