The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1907-11-06

AhhN VhA ARA III AtOh6h AeNhF hO ~ oO
ye" be would whisper hoarsely when
be passed the silent scaler.
But In the three days the Rough Red
put his men to work on a little cabin.
Fitz Patrick at once took his scaling
rule from the corner and set out into
the forest.
His business was, by measuring the
diameter of each log, to ascertain and
tabulate the number Of board feet put
In by the contractor. On the basis of
his single report James Bourke would
be paid for the seasons work. Inevita-
bly, he at once became James Bourke's
natural enemy, and so of every man
In the crew, with the possible exception
Of the cook.
Suppose you log knoll which your
eye tells you must grow at least half a
million; suppose you work consclen-
tIously for twelve days; suppose your
average has always been between 49,
900 and $4,000 a day. And then sup
pose the scaler's sheets credit you with
only a little over the 100000! What
would you think of It? Would you not
be inclined to suspect that the scaler
had cheated you in favor of his mas
ter-that you had been compelled by
false figures to work a day or so for
nothing?
Fitz Patrick scaled honestly, for he
was a Just man, but exactitude and
optimism of estimate never have ap-
proximated, and they did not in this
case. The Rough Red grumbled, ac-
cused, swore, threatened. Fltz Patrick
smoked steadily and said nothing.
The two men early came to a clash
over the methods of cutting. The
Rough Red and his crew cut anywhere,
everywhere, anyhow. The easiest way
was theirs. Small timber they skipped,
large timber they sawed high, tops
they left rather than trim them into
logs. Fltz Patrick would not have the
pine slaughtered"
Never would the Red acknowledge the
wrong nor promise the improvement,
but both were there, and both he and
Fitz Patrick knew it. The Rough Red
chafed frightfully, but in a way his
hands were tied He could do nothing
without the report, and it was too far
out to send for another scaler, even II
DAILY would have given him one.
Finally in looking over a skidway he
noticed that one log had not been blue
penciled across the end. That meant
that It had not been scaled, and that in
turn meant that he, the Rough Red,
,,-o,,I1 not bo r,oiJ for bic Iohor In ont
ting and banking it. At once he began
to below through the woods:
"Hey, Fitz Patrick! Come here, you
blank, BANKED, blank of blank! Come
herew
The scaler swung leisurely down the
travoy trail and fronted the other with
level eyes.
"Well?" said he.
Why amt that log marked?"
81 culied it,"
"Ain't it sound and good? Is there
mark on It? A streak of punk or rot?
Amt it good timber? What tn blanks
tn matter with it? You tried to do me
out of that, you blank skunk!
A log is culled or thrown out when
for any reason it will not make good
timber.
"I'll tell you, Jimmy Bourke," replied
Fitz Patrick calmly, 9TH stick is sound
and good or was before your murderin'
crew got hold of it, but if ven take a
squint at the butt of 1t yen see that
your gang has sawed her on a six
inch slant They've wasted a good foot
of tn log. | spoke Of that afore, an
now l give We warnin' that l Gull every
log. big or little, punk or sound, that
amt sawed square and true across tn
butt"
9TH log Is sound an good, an ven
scale it, or I'll know tn reason why!"
81 will not" replied Fitz Patrick.
The following day he culled log in
another and distant skidway whose
butt showed a slant Of a good six
inches. The day following he culled
another of the same sort on still an
other skidway. He examined it close
", then sought the Rough Red.
1T is useless, Jimmy Bourke," said
he, "tO be hauling of that same poor
log from skidway to skidway. You
can shift her to every travoy trail in
tn Crothers tract, but 1t will do ye lit
tie good. I'll Gull It wherever 1 find
it, and never will ye get tn scale of
that log"
The Rough Red raised his hand, then
dropped it again, whirled away with a
curse, whirled back with another and
spat out:
"By -, Fltz Patrick, ye go too far!
Ye've bounded me and harrled me
through tn woods all tn year! By -
tits a good stick, an We shall scale itg'
"Yo' an yore old fellows is robbers
alikew cried one of the men.
Fitz Patrick turned on his heel and
resumed his work. The men ceased
theirs and began to talk.
That night was Christmas eve. Aft
er supper the Rough Red went direct
ly from the cook camp to the mems
camn Fitz Patrick sitting lonely In