Mower County transcript., 1904-06-29
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Dyer, the 6caIef, leered insoIent1y E6m
behind tho Indians stolid mask, :.
Elbow do you know r. said Thofpe.
E9s saneWec the Indian threw his
shui IA san sDyeF's n@rvous
| 5kSSlon. .3sss$.s5s= Sz
1sfIeEnales tratlsis Big ~ f.netoe, Hight
blythe sheel. He make trail big On In
ode a.
+ Charley arose and walked after Dy-
eE,s Aspnngy fashion, illustrating his
point in the soft wood ashes of the
immediate fireside.
Thorpe looked doubtful. 'T believe
you are right, Charley" said he. "But
it ID mighty little to go on. You can't
be sure"
Il sure" replied Charley.
| He puffed strongly at the heel Of his
disappeared in the forest.
Then began the wonderful struggle
against circumstances which has be-
come byword among river men every
where. A. forty day drive had to go
out in ten. A freshet had to float out
0,O0O, 900 feet of logs. 1t was tremen-
dous. Fourteen. sixteen. sometimes
eighteen hours day the men Of tho
driving crew worked like demons
, Jams had, no chance to form. !Of
course Under tie pressure the lower
dam had gune cut. Nothing was toslbe
depended on but sheer dogged grit.
Far up river Sadler & Smith had hung
their drive for the season. and so had
resigned themselves to a definite but
not extraordinary loss. Thorpe had at
least clear river.
Wallace Carpenter could not under
stand how human flesh and blood en-
dured. The men themselves had long
since reached the point of practical.
exhaustion. but were carried through
by the fire OF their leader. Work was
dogged until he stormed into sight;
then it became frenzied. When he
looked at a man from his oavernous.
burning eyt ;. that man jumped.
1mpossibilities were puffed aside Hike
thistles. The men went at them head
long. They gave way before the rush.
Thorpe always led. Not for a single
instant Of the day nor for many at
night was he at rest. Instinctively he
seemed to realize that let down
would mean collapse
After the camp had fallen asleep he
would often lie awake half of the few
hours Of their night, every muscle
tense, staring at the sky. His mind
saw definitely every detail of the sit
uatiOn as he had viewed it. In advance
his imagination stopped and sweated
to the work which his body was to &C.
complish the next morning. Thus he
did everything twice. Then at last the
tension would relax. He would fall
into uneasy sleep. But twice that did
not follow. Through the dissolving
iron mist of his striving a sharp
thought cleaved like an arrow. 1t was
that, after all, he did not care. Sub
consciousness, the other influence, was
growing like weed. Perhaps there
were greater things than to succeed,
greater things than success. And then
the keen,. poignant memory Of the
dream girl stole into the young mans
mind and in agony was Immediately
thrust forth. He would not think of
her. He had given her up. He refus-
ed to believe that he had been wrong.
In the still darkness Of the night he
would rise and steal to the edge of the
duly roaring stream. There. his eyes
blinded and his throat choked with
longing more manly than tears, he
would reach out and smooth the round
rough coats of the great logs.
"We'll do it," he whispered to them
and to himself. "We'll do 1t. We can't
be wrong"
CHAPTER Xxx.
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