The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1904-11-23

Thorpe, soul sick after his recent ex-
periences with the charity Of the world.
discovered real pleasure in this fresh.
clear passion.
Three days after the newcomer had
started in at the swapping Paul. dur
ing their early morning walk from
camp to the scene of their operations.
confided in him further.
"Got another letter, chummy." said
he. "Come In yesterday. She tells
me-" he hesitated, with a blush. and
then a happy laugh. that they amt
going to be only two of US at the farm
next year"
''You mean?' queried Thorpe.
eyes," laughed Paul, ''and If it's a
| girl she gets named after her mother.
you bet"
The men separated. In a moment
| Thorpe found himself waist deep in
the pitchy aromatic top of an old bull
sap, clipping away at the projecting
branches. After time he heard Pauls
gay halloo.
Timber came the cry, and then
the swish-sh-sh-crash of the trees
fall.
Thorpe knew that now either Hank
or Tom must be climbing with the long
measuring pole along the PROSTATE
trunk, marking by means of shallow
ak clips where the saw was to divide
| the logs. Then Tom shouted some
thing unintelligible The other men
seemed to understand, however, for
they dropped their work and ran hasti-
" in the direction of the voice. Thorpe
after a moments indecision did the
same. He arrived to find a group
about a PROSTATE man. The man was
Paul
Two Of the older woodsmen, kneel-
ing, were conducting coolly a hasty
examination. At the front every man
is more or less of surgeon.
"Is he hurt badlyY' asked Thorpe.
''What is itY'
Hes dead" answered one of the
other men soberly.
With the skill of CHASTITY practice
some of them wove litter, on which
the body was placed. The pathetic
little procession moved In the solemn,
lnScruLaDke FOREST.
When the tree had fallen it had
crashed through the top of another.
leaving suspended in the branches of
the latter long, heavy limb. A slight
breeze dislodged it. Henry Paul was
! impaled as by a javelin. This is the
chief of the many perils Of the woods.
That evening the camp was unusual
- lo% Toll lot n fc han
After supper Thorpe was approached
by Purdy, the reptilian redhead with
whom he had had the row some even
ings before.
"You in, chummyT' he asked in a
quiet voice. Its q Eve apiece for
Hanks woman"
EYES," said Thorpe.
| The men were earning from $50 to
$50 a month. They had most of them
never seen Hank Paul before this au-
tumn. He had not, mainly because Of
his modest disposition, enjoyed any ex-
traordinary degree of popularity, yet
these strangers cheerfully, as matter
of course, gave up the proceeds Of a
weeks hard work, and that without
expecting the slightest personal credit.
The money was sent "from the boys"
Thorpe later read heartbroken letter,
to the unknown benefactors. 1t touched
him deeply, and he suspected the other
men of the same emotions, but by that
time they had regained the independ-
ent, self contained poise of the from
tiersman. They read it with unmoved
faces and tossed it aside with more
than ordinarily rough joke er oath.
Thorpe understood their reticence. 1t
was a part of his own nature. He felt
more than ever akin to these men.
AS swamper he had more or less to
] do with a cant hook in helping the
teamsters roll the end of the log on the
little "dray." He soon caught the
knack. Toward Christmas he had be-
come fairly efficient cant hook man
and was helping roll the great sticks of
timber up the slanting skids. Thus al
that rare intelligence which resolves
into the analytical and the minutely
observing.
He was getting just the experience
and the knowledge he needed, but that
was about ALL His wages were $25
month, which his van bill would re-
duce to the double eagle. At the end
Of the winter he would have but lit
tie over 500 to show for his seasons
work, and this could mean at most on
~ $50 for Helen. But the future was
his. He saw now more plainly what
he had dimly perceived before, that
for the man who buys timber, and logs
it we'll, a sure future is waiting. And
in this camp he was beginning to learn
from failure the conditions of success.