Mower County transcript., 1904-05-18

tgade, put FOOL, for he thus earned q
magnificent licking If ever he ran up
against a member. Of the Fighting
Forty" A band Of soldiers were they,
ready to attempt anything their COM
mander ordered, and, it must be con-
fessed, they were also. somewhat on
the order of a band of pirates. Mar
quette thought SO each spring after the
drive, when, hat tilted, they surged,
swearing and shouting, down to Den
ny Hogan's saloon. Denny had to buy
new fixtures when they went away,
but it was worth it.
Proud! It was no name for it. Boast!
The fame Of Camp One spread abroad
over the land. Some people thought
Camp One must be a sort of hellhole
Of roaring, fighting devils. Others
sighed and made rapid calculations Of
the number Of logs they could put in
If only they could get hold of help like
that.
Thorpe himself, of course, made his
headquarters at Camp One During
the five years he had never crossed the
strait Of Mackinaw. The rupture With
his sister had made repugnant to him
all the southern country. All winter
long he was more than busy at his log
ging. Summers he spent at the mill.
Occasionally he visited Marquette, but
always on business.
He was happy because he was too
busy to be anything else. The insist
ent need OF success which he had Gre
ated for himself absorbed all other SELL
timents. He demanded it of others
vigorously. He could do no less than
demand it of himself The chief end
Of any man, as he saw it, was to do
well and successfully what his life
found ready.
Success, success, success. Nothing
could be of more Importance. It's at
tainment argued a mans efficiency in
the scheme of things. Anything that
interfered with it-personal comfort,
inclination, affection, desire, love Of
ease, individual liking-was bad.
Thorpe cared for just three people,
and none of them happened to clash
with his machine. They were Wallace
Carpenter, little Phil and Injun Char
ley.
Wallace was always personally agree
able to Thorpe. Latterly, since the cree
ton of the mill, he had developed unex-
pected acumen in the disposal of the
seasons cut to wholesale dealers in
Chicago. Thereafter he was often in
the woods both for pleasure and to get
his partners ideas on what the firm
would have to offer. The entire respon-
sibility of the city end of the business
was in his hands.
1njun Charley continued to hunt and
trap in the country round about. Once
or twice a month the lumberman would
snowshoe down to the little cabin at
the forks. Entering, he would nod brief
~ and seat himself on a cracker box.
"How do, Charley?" said he..
'HoW do?" replied Charley.
They filled pipes and smoked. At
rare intervals one of them made a re-
mark tersely:
"Catch um beaver las week." re-
udFheu Cnafley.
"Good haul" commented Thorpe.
Or:
II saw mink track by the big bowl
der" offered Thorpe.
"H'mv' responded Charley in a long
drawn falsetto whine.
Yet somehow the men came to know
each other better and better, and each
telt that in an emergency he could de-
pend on the other to the uttermost in
spite Of the difference in race.
AS for Philip, he was like some
strange, shy animal, retaining all its
wild instincts, but led by affection to
become domestic. He drew the water.
cut the wood-none better. In the even
ing he played atrociously his violin
none worse-bending his great white
brow forward with the wolf glare in
his eyes, swaying his shoulders with a
fierce delight in the subtle dissonances
OF the horrible tunes he played. And
often he went into the forest and gazed
wondering at occult things. Above all
he worshiped Thorpe. And in turn the
~~"A~~NSAAAAOA tlSNO1uCu ullQ a. gOOO ma
tured affection.
Financially the company was rated
high and yet was heavily in debt. This
condition Of affairs by no means con-
stitutes an anomaly in the numbering
business, r. ,
The profits of the first five wears had
been immediately reinvested in the
business. Thorpe intended to establish
In a few years more big plant which
would be returning henedces lii pro-
portion not only to the capital original
y invested, but also In ratio to the en-. i.
ergy, time and genius he had himself
expended. 4 .r..S Z .s~' .:
Every autumn the company found it.
self suddenly in easy circumstances.
At any moment that Thorpe had cho-
sen to be content with the progress ,,,grt ,,s
made he could have, 80 to speak, de-
clared dividends with his partner. In
stead OF undertaking more improve
ments, for part OF which he borrowed
some m money, he could have divided the
profits Of the seasons cut. But this he
. uaS1n ryo% H. \