Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-02-04
CHAPTER XXI.

uous life among great responsibilities;
starved. hungry life OF the affections
whence even the sister had withdra W.
her love all these had worked un-
cbtrusively toward the formation Of a
single psychological condition. Such n
moment comes TO every man. Then are
happiness and misery beside which the
mere struggle to dominate men be-
comes trivial. the petty striving with
the forces Of nature Il little thing. and
the woman he at that time meets IL
more than a woman: she is the best of
that man made visible.
Thorpe found himself for the first
time filed with the spirit of restless
ness. His customary iron ovcnneSs OF
temper was gone. 40 thai be wandered
QuicKiy from onr detail OF his work to
anotiIsT wiTn@ut seeming TO penetrate
below tse su-,ace reeI OF any one task.
Bu. w.et he fore he had felt himself
absorbed N the component parts of his
enterprise. Now he was outside of It.
Thorpe took this state OF mind much to
heart and corNnted II. invariably 10
held Inn self TO his task BY an effort.
trcinondo'is effort. he succeeded in
doing SO The effort left him limp. He
foGnd himself often standing or NOV
ing gently bis eyes staring SiGhtless.
his will chuned 50 softly and yet so
firmly that he felt no strength ma
hardly the desire 10 break from the
dream that iuIlod him. Then he was
conscious Of the physical warmth OF
the sun, the faint sweet wood smells.
the soothing cares of the breeze, the
sleepy cicada-iilie note Of the pine
Crecper. He wanted nothing so much
as to sit on the Pine needles there in
the golden food Of radiance and dream
- dream Oh vaguely, comfortably,
Eweetly.
Lord, Lcrd!' he cred impatently
WHAT'S coming 20 me? I must be q lit
tie OF my feed"
Ard he hurried rapidly to his duties
After an hour of the hardest concentra-
ton he bad ever been required to be-
STOW on q trivial subject he again I'M
consciously sank by degrees into the
OLD apathy.
Glad it isn't the busy season" he
commented to him II. Here. | must
I'lll tiilH. bi'-SN u l.4t W al III NtiilltI.
I'll get down 10 the ir.ll for day or
two"
There IA found himself incapable
even the most petty routine work. liz
sat M his disk at S O'Clock and began
the 9erusal Of sheaf Of letters The
first thrro he road carefully the follow
ing two rather hurredly, of the next
one he seized Gully the salient and es-
sentiai points, tie seventh and eighth
he skinned. The remainder OF the bun
Gle he thrust aside III uncomfortable
impatence. Next day he returned to
the woods.
The incident Of the letters had
aroused to the fuil his old fighting spir
1t. before which no mere instincts
could stand.
Once more his mental process became
clear and inclsve, his commands direct
and TO the point To all outward ap-
pearance Thorpe was az before
He opened Camp One, and the Fight
ing Forty came back from distant
drinking Joint This was in early Sep
ten ar. That ablebodicd and devoted
band Of mon was on hand when need
ed. Shearer in some subtle manner Of
his own had let them feel that this year
meant 100000 or Dust" They
frightened their leather belts and stood
ready for command. After much dis
cnssion with Shcnrer the young man
decided to take out the logs from
"eleven" by driving them down French
creek.
To this end gang was put 20 clear
ing the creek bed. 1t WAS a tremen-
dous job. Centuries of forest life had
choked the little stream nearly to tile
level Of its banks. Old snags and
stumps lay imbedded in the ooze; de-
cayed trunks, mos. grown, blocked the
current; leaning tamara cks. fallen tim
Der, tangled vines, dense thickcts, gave
TO lis course more the appearance OF a
tropical jungle than Of north country
brook bed. All these things had to be
removed one by one and either piled TO
one side or burned. In the end how
ever, 1t would pay. French creek was
not n large stream, but it could be
driven during the time of the spring
freshets.
Each night the men returned in tho
beautiful dreamlkc twilight to the
camp There they sat after eating,
smoking their pines in the open air
Much Of the time they sang. while Phil
cr0uching wolf-ike over his violin
raspcd out an accompaniment of dlsso
nunces. The mems voices lent them.
selves we'll to the weird minor strains
of the chanIeys. These times, when the
men sang and the night wind rose and
died In the hemlock tops, were Thorpe's
worst moments. His soul, tired with
the days iron struggle. fell to brooding
lie wanted something, he knew not
what.
The men were singing in n mighty
chorus, swaying their heads In unison
and bringing ont with roar the EN-,
phatlc words Of the crude dittles writ
ten by some genius from their own
ranks
Gone all ye sons Of freedom throughout
old Michigan
Come all ye gallant lumbcrmen list to a
shanty raan,
On the bR INKS Of the Muskegon where the
rapid waters now
Oh, wen range the wild woods o err while
a-lumberinx We 60"
Here was the bold unahashed front
OF the pioneer here was absolute Ger
tainty In the superiority of bis calling