The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-10-05
Continued from Last Sunday.
CHAPTER ".

errands. At the end of the week he
received 81 from his employer, dump
ed his valise into low bobsleigh driven
by a man muffied in a fur coat; assist
ed in loading the sleigh with a variety
of things, from Spearhead plug to
raisins. and turned his face at last
toward the land of his hopes and de-
sires.
The long drive to camp was at once
a delight and a misery to him. First
his feet became numb. then his hands.
then his nose was nipped, and finally
his warm clothes were lifted from him
by invisible hands, and he was left
naked to shivers and tremblings. He
found il torture to sit still on the top
of the bale of hay, and yet he could
not bear to contemplate the cold shock
of jumping from the sleigh to the
ground. The driver pulled up to
breathe his horses at the top of hill.
You're dressed pretty light" he ad-
vised better hoof it a ways and get
warm"
The words tipped the balance of
ly, conscious of a disagreeable shock
from a six-inch jump.
In ten minutes the wallowing, slip
ping and leaping after the tail of the
sled had sent his blood tingling to the
last of his protesting members. Cold
withdrew.
After a little while they arrived by
way of hill. over which they plunged
into the middle of the camp. Thorpe
saw three large buildings, backed end
TO end. and two smaller ones, all Dulit
of heavy logs, rooted with plank, and
lighted sparsely through one or two
windows apiece. The driver pulled up
opposite the space between two larger
buildings, and began to unload his pro
visions. Thorpe set about aiding him,
and so found himself for the first time
in a cook camp.
1t was a commodious building. One
end furnished space for two cooking
ranges and two hunks placed one over
the other. Along one side ran broad
table-shelf, with other shelves over II
and numerous barrels underneath, all
filled with cans, loaVes of bread, cook
les and pies. The center was occupied
by four long bench-tianked tables,
down whose middle struggled utensils
containing sugar, apple butter, condi-
were set with tin dishes for about
forty men. The cook, rather thin
faced man with a mustache, directed
where the provisions were to be stow
ed and the "cookee," a hulking youth,
assisted Thorpe and the driver to carry
them in.
In few moments the task was fin
ished. with the exception of half
dozen other cases, which the driver
aeier tod 10 ~ horses
were unhitched and stabbed in the third
of the big log buildings. The driver
indicated the second.
Better go into the mems camp and
sit down till tn boss gets in he adj
vised.
Inorpe entered a dim, over-heated
structure. lined on two sides by a dou-
BILE tier of large hunks partitioned from
one another like cabins of a boat, and
centered by a huge stove over which
hung slender poles. The latter were to
dry clothes on. Just outside the hunks
ran a straight hard bench. Thorpe
stood at the entrance trying to accus-
tom his ears to the dimness.
Set down, said a voice, ''on tn
floor If you want to; but I'd prefer TIL
deacon seat"
Thorpe obediently took position on
the bench, or deacon seat" His eyes,
more used TO the light, could make out
a thin, tall, bent old man, with bare
Uranium, two visible teeth, and a three
days stubble of white beard over his
meager, twisted face.
He caught, perhaps, Thorpe's sur
prised expression
You think tn old mans no good, do
you?" he cackled, without the slightest
malice, looks is deceivin'!" He sprang
up swiftly, seized the toe of his right
foot in his left hand, and jumped his
left foot through the loop thus formed
Then he sat down again and laughed
at Thorpe's establishment.
"Old Jacksons still purity smart
said he. I'm barn-b boss They amt q
man in tn country knows as much
about bosses as l do. We amt had bu
two sick this fall, an between you an
me, they's a skate lot. You're a green,
horn, amt you?"
Yes" confessed Thorpe.
Well said Jackson, refiectively bu
rapidly, lie Fabian, he's quiet blu
bad; and O'Grady, he talks loud blu
you can bluff him; and Perry, he's only
bad when he gets full of red lkker; ant
Norton he's bad when he gets mac
like, and will use axes.
Thorpe did not know he was gettinf
valuable points on the camp DULLES
At dark the old man lit two lamps
which served dimly to gloze the shad
ows, and thrust logs of wood into tn,
cast iron stove. Soon after, the me1
came in. They were a queer, mixeC
lot. There were active, clear-bu
precise Frenchmen, with small hands
and feet, and peculiarly trim way o
wearing their rough garments; typica
native-born American lumber jacks
powerful in frame, rakish in air, reck
less in manner; big blonde Scandina
, yians and Swedes, strong men at tn
saving; an Indian or so, strangely IL
contrast to the rest; and a variety o
1rishmen, Englishmen and Canadians
These men tramped in without a word
and set busily to work at variou
tasks. Some sat on the deacon seat
and began to take off their socks an,
rubbers; still others selected and Ii
lanterns from a pendant row near tn
window, and followed old Jackson GU
of doors. They were the teamsters.
You'll find the old man in the office
said Jackson.
Thorpe made his way across to tn
small log cabin indicated as the office
and pushed open the door,
A man sat at a desk placing fig
ures on a sheet of paper. He obtain
ed the figures from statistics pencile
on three thin leaves of beech WOO
riveted together. In a chair by tn
stove lounged a bulkier figure, whic
Thorpe concluded to be that of tn
''old man."
Il was sent here by Shearer" sal
Whorpe directly; "he said you Nigh
give me some work.
So long a silence fell that the ap
plicant began to wonder if his ques
ton had been heard.