The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-25

r-t, Habberton in Pittsburg Dispatch.
Figures don't lie." exclaimed Clay Will
--,rtb. one morning late in May. as ne met
- friend Jeff Rapps coming down TO the
.,miu 20 fsh from the log platform.
Then clay held before Jeff's face a broad
-t,r.ie covered with figures. so that it
,,,ted ike an awful sum in arithmetic and
ebsrcoaL
Well" said Jeff. who wasn't prepared
%, any such statement, and who hated
.rthmetic with all his heart, Il didn't
az that they did. What are you driving
- and how are fish biting?''
The fish aren't biting at all" was the
.srly for there's been a tremendous rain
d, the river somewhere. and the waters
.,,fuI muddy; the rivers risen about two
80 since last night so Mr.. Drewel, the
aFner of the saw mill. says. That's what
an my figuring is about
The freshet UP above, wherever it was.
has ioated a lot of saw logs out of the
r,tle creeks, where the lumbermen drop
-.,5 them, and / saw man catch one just
Nv and ne toWed IL in to the mill, and
~ Drewell paid him a dollar and quar-
,sr and said he wished he'd bring him
i,t more for the mill is awfully short of
s,Uing stuffs. And" here Clay again
brandished the figure covered shingle be-
fore Jeff's eyes, "as 1 said before, figures
don't lie"
what's figures got to do with saw
locs?" asked jeff.
a great deal in this case. timed the
nan who sold MIR. Drewell that log from
m. time he started from shore until he
came back and got his money it was
onIv thirteen minutes-call 1t a quarter
an hour, which means So an hour.
There is six hours between now and sup
per time and six times five are thirty
hat meas SIS apiece for you and me If
we keep at work, for the river Is full OF
logs that we couldn't miss if we tried"
SFifteen-dollars apiecel For tko boys?
Oh it isn't possible gasped Jef.
Every WE'LL stick to it if you like; but
there's the figures on the single; go over
them for yourself. Figures don't lie"
Jeff went over the figures, and as they
were the simplest of multiplication, he
was obliged to say that there was moth
ing out of the way with them.
"Take my rod and line" said jeff.
1--WE three chickens that 1 can get a
quarter for and | know just who wants
tbem You're sure the logs won't all get
away while I'm gone-and that the water
is really too muddy for fishing?
"Oh, hurry along" exclaimed Clay. I'M
L
man if you don't give your whole at
tantion to good chance When you see
IT,"
Jeff was back within half an hour. with
the quarter, a pair of oars. the key to
boat chain, and also with his mothers
entire clothes-line, which he explained he
thought would be handy to use as tow
line for the logs.
In the mean time Clay had begged sew
nile he. engineer
sawmll, and ne had borrowed, without
asking an AK from a woodpile not far
away, to drive the nails into logs. SOFAS to
have something to tie the rope to.
Now" said he, as he took the oars
and pulled the boat from the shore, I'VE II
work as close as possible to the mill, so
as to have the least distance in which
to tow the logs when we catch them. But
say, why do you suppose nobody but us
thought of this job? L suppose 1T is be-
cause nobody knows yet that the river
has taken sudden boom"
JEFF gave his conscience rest for mo-
rhent as Clay pulled the boat beside big
log which was drifting along as rapidly
and carelessly as If 1t hadn't an owner on
the face of the earth.
Make a slip-nose in the end of your rope
quick" said Clay. That's right. Now
drive one of the nails in the end of the log
and throw the loop over II and draw it
tight"
Jeff obeyed orders. so far as he could,
but as he held a nail in place and at
tempted to hit the head of it with the AK,
he hit his finger and thumb instead, and
then he yelled "Ouehv' and put his finger
and thumb into his mouth, and looked
Ike boy having tooth pulled, while the
log slipped away down stream, giving the
boat an ugly lurch as it scraped along the
sade.
You're a nice one." shouted Clay, who
had been resting on his oars and looking
ON. Come here and row, and let me
show you how to catch log"
jeff obeyed; not so much that he wanted
to learn as that he had done enough log
catching to last him for the day. Still,
he laid the boat alongside of another log,
and Clay took nail and ak in hand. first
where he could handle ii quickly.
The first log which Clay tackled looked
ss innocent as a big post that mad fallen
asleep while taking bath, but no soon
er did Clay press the point of the nall
into its bark than it rolled sidewise to-
ward him, and acted as If 1t wanted to
get into the boat and argue the matter
he finally got the point of the nail in
q deep crevice of the bark and struck a
vigorous blow with the ak. The nail went
70 its place in fine shape, so did the ak
mat is, if the bottom or the river was the
place it was aiming at.
Counfound it," exclaimed Clay. THAT
ak, II the owner misses it, will cost as
much as we will get for the log" Then
he look clean single and a bit of char
coal and said, as he began figuring: 1--WE
may as we'll charge it to profit and loss
Whle we have it in mind
Better charge the log to profit and
loss, too said jeff, "for it's slid away,
nail side down"
Clay looked, but did not say anything.
winch was about as well under the cir
cumstances; then he did some hard think
ing after which he took off one of his
shoes, saying that by the, use of enough
muscle smart blow of the heel ought
hold
30 Jeff laid the boat alongside of a fine
pls Fellow and Clay really caught 1T and
sot nail into it and got the slip knot
oHer 1t and then told JEFF to pull for the
snore- JEFF tried to obey orders, but the
Joys had not noted until then that the
current had carried them so far down
sueam that they were about half a mile
yellow the sawmiI
me log finally consented to be tied to
Tree on the bank and the boys pulled
~ stream about mile, so that the next
plNe would not have to be dragged
against the cl1rrA,4